Ninth Flyer 13_3_2003

I f you look
closely,
you'll be
able to see the
egg continuing
to drip off my
face. Even to
this day,
everyone is
looking for the phantom pages 17
through 20 which mysteriously never
made it into the final production of
the summer edition of The Ninth
Flyer. Well, I'm working to correct
the problem but I want to assure you
first and foremost that the buck stops
here! I take full responsibility simply
because the responsibility is mine to
accept. The error occurred on the
printer's side of this production and
while the proofs I approved were
absolutely beautiful and perfect, the
final production fell short. Seems I
called it right last quarter; errors will
occur. I just hate that such a glaring
error occurred in my first publication!
The response from the
membership of this wonderful
organization has been simply
phenomenal. Thank you so very
much for your kind words regarding
the Flyer's new look and format. I've
heard from folks around the world
offering kudos and best wishes,
many of which you'll find on page 4
in our 'Letters to the Editor'
department. I know you're reading
the Flyer-cover to cover-which is
going to keep me on my toes. And
I'm sincerely grateful to all of you
for welcoming me with open arms
and warm hearts.
So here's how this issue will
differ than the last. This quarter will
feature 24 pages to make up for the
summer edition's missing four pages.
Basically, only the jump from the
Typhoon Disaster story was lost.
Most of the rest of the work was
filler-short quips, calendar events,
etc. I'm reprinting this harrowing
story in its entirety this issue because
it merits it. It's an exciting, knuckle­gripping
tale that needs to be told
and so you won't have to remember
what you read three months ago, the
remembrances of Del Sahlberg and
Don Summers are here again in total.
Apologies to the authors are in order.
I hope with this issue, all is forgiven.
Also, apologies to the
Humphries family are being sent. In
our 'Folded Wings' department, the
typo came to me reading Humphires.
I looked at it carefully and thought
twice about it. When I found in my
local phone directory there are in
fact a few folks with the last name
Humphire, I figured it was the
correct spelling.
Another couple of typos slipped
past spell check but I guess that's
something we'll work more
diligently on in the future.
Hope you enjoy the roundups
from the various reunions and SLC
convention stories since our last
issue. Keep those letters coming!
I GOALS OF THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION I
• To preserve and publicize the history of Ninth Air Force from its
inception in WWII to present time.
• To honor and memorialize the sacrifices of our comrades and their
families.
• To promote fellowship among survivors, families and descendents
of those assigned to the Ninth Air Force at any time.
• To foster the continuing quest for individual liberty and love of our
country.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE AssocrATION, FALL 2003
THE INTH FLYER
Fall,2003
Volume XIII, Number 3
Published quarterly by the
Ninth Air Force Association, Inc.
A Tennessee non-profit veterans
corporation. Chartered as a not for profit
veterans corporation in Tennessee and
registered with the IRS as a 501-c-19
organization,
Headquarters of the Ninth Air Force
Association located at:
Published by Suncoast Graphics
301 Bayshore Drive • Niceville, FL 32578
Visit us online at:
www.ninthairforceassoc.org
Editorial Policy
The Ninth Flyer is published each
January, April, July and October. We
solicit submitted material from any
interested party who shares the goals of
the Association and wishes to share
information with our readers. Materials
must reach the editor at least 30 days
prior to publication, but no guarantees
are made that those materials will be
published in the next issue. Submissions
should be sent via email to the editor's
address below. When possible, photos
should be sent electronically as JPEGs
or through U.S. Postal Service. Photos
cannot be returned without SASE. All
entries will be published on a space
available basis and will be edited for
length, clarity, and good taste. Complete
identification of persons, equipment or
aircraft pictured must accompany
photos. We encourage submissions from
other veterans organizations.
Items appearing in The Flyer do not
necessarily reflect the views of the
Association. Editorial opinions and/or
comments will be clearly identified.
Permission is granted to reproduce
information in The Flyer unless
prohibited by copyright. Please credit
reprints appropriately.
Contributors may send electronic
submissions to:
THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
A~rorn- ised, it is time for
me to let you
know that one of
our members
makes regular
visits of Ameri-can
Cemeteries in Stan Stepnitz
France and
German. No, he does not go back
and forth between the USA and
Europe. He lives in Germany. His
name is Ronald Hirst. He has
recently said he would like to send
material to our new editor explain­ing
where he has visited. He does
have the desire to carry on some of
the purpose of the 9AFA in an area
few of us can visit very often. Thank
you Ronald.
It is too soon for details, but
there are programs in the works to
make available transportation to
Normandy. From information
currently available, getting to
~trip, m um top
slate of 9 AFA objectives
England will be up to the individual.
From there, cruise ships will visit
several European locations with
docking at Cherbourg or Caen. Be
assured there will also be transporta­tion
to the American Cemetery at
Omaha Beach. If you think you
would like to go, let me know and I
will see that you get details as soon
as they are available. This is not for
a convention.
Would you like to see a Ninth
Air Force museum? Your Board of
Directors has given that a lot of
thought. What hasn't really been
done to date is to ask the member­ship
to get involved. How? Do like
the Eighth Air Force people did.
They found people with money and
got them to finance their excellent
museum in Georgia. If you know
someone with money and an interest
in the Air Force, get involved and
get them to initiate financial backing.
Incidently, we are investigating the
availability of space in some current
museum for display of our materi­als.
One more thing each and every
member can do. If you know mem­bers
of associations that are inter­ested
in the Ninth Air Force, talk
them into contacting our association
if they wish to join in with us. We do
have some that are showing an
interest in doing so. Let us pursue
our intention for having an 'um­brella'
organization.
--Stan
Mike Ingrisano named 9 AFA director
Mike N. Ingrisano, Jr., enlisted on
September 3, 1942 in New York City.
After being assigned to the US Army
Air Corps, he was sent to Miami
for basic training. Then on to
Chicago, Illinois, for training as a
radio operator/mechanic. His first
assignment was with the 72nd Troop
Carrier Squadron based in Alliance,
Nebraska. In July 1943, he
volunteered for overseas duty as a
member of a replacement crew.
On August 17, he joined the
37th Troop Carrier Squadron, 316th
Troop Carrier Group in El Kabrit,
Egypt. After flying supply missions
in support of the British Army and
2
RAF, the squadron joined the rest of
the 316th in Sicily.
In February 1944, the Group
was sent to England, and continued
training for the invasion of France.
He participated in the Normandy
invasion, four missions in the
invasion of Holland, and his final
combat mission was the paradrop of
the British airborne into Wesel,
Germany (Operation Varsity).
During his 21 months overseas,
he flew 1500 hours, was awarded
three Air medals, the Distinguished
Unit Citation with two oak leaf
clusters, and nine battle stars.
He was honorably discharged on
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
September 3, 1945.
After WWII, he attended
Rockhurst University in Kansas City,
Missouri where he received a B.S.
in Literature in 1948, and by 1949
received a M.A. in literature from the
State University of Iowa. From
1949 to 1952, while serving as an
instructor in the English Department
he also concentrated on his literature
and history studies.
· He then worked in public
affairs in the electronics industry, and
with the US Customs Service until
he retired in 1988. He.wrote
numerous historic articles for the
--See lngrisano on page 24
THE S CRETARY'S PEN
9th AFA Directors set
Convention in Tucson
g
Meeting called to order at 4: 00
p.m. by Chairman Ray Lowman.
• Opening Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Roll call of Directors and Officers
Present: Stanley Davis, Michael
Horgan, Michael Ingrisano,
Orville Iverson, Lloyd Johnson,
Raymond Lowman, Vito Pedone,
Marvin Rosvold, Fern Mann.
Absent: Frank Carnaggio, Arnold
Franco, Bert Lok, Stanley Stepnitz,
Larry Gaughran, Treasurer.
Introduction of new Director,
Mike Ingrisano.
Fern Mann reported on SLC
convention plans.
Marvin Rosvold reported on Larry
Gaughran's health.
Minutes of April, 2003 meeting
at Shaw read. One correction,
Ingrisano was in Troop Carrier
Command, not "Commander."
Minutes approved.
Chairman's Report. Next 9th
AFA Convention will be in Tucson.
Hotel is selected. Details will be
announced.
President Stanley Stepnitz was
absent because of problems at his
home from Hurricane Isabel, so
he made a conference call to the
Board, with items as follows:
• Stan read letters from other groups
recommending two years notice of
Convention dates so they could
discuss possibility of having joint
gatherings.
• Discussed June
6,2004
ceremony to be
held at
Normandy
Cemetery. We
will ask for
Fern Mann
seating at ceremony. Letter sent to
Pres. Bush inviting him to ceremony.
• WWII Memorial in Washington
D.C. officially will open in May, '04.
• Future Conventions-Should we
use professional Reunion Planners?
• Museums-We can't afford our
own, so we must find space in
others, such as Dover AFB.
• Holland/ America Cruise lines will
announce trip to Europe in June,
2004.
Meeting opened to discussion
about changing 9th AFA Convention
dates to Spring. Lloyd Johnson made
Motion that 9th AFA Convention
dates be changed from FALL to
Spring. Motion approved.
Lloyd Johnson made Motion that
9th AFA, 2005 Convention be held
in May in Seattle, WA, immediately
before or after P-47 Pilots Assoc.
Convention. Second by Iverson,
Motion approved. Six for, one
opposed.
Treasurers Report was read.
Motion to accept report made and
approved. Larry Gaughran has
asked to be relieved of Treasurer's
See Secretary on page 17
. Tne DUI AfA Wants You
Our Asso6iation's Board Is in dire need of a Treasurer.
Volunt~ers should contact Ray Eowman at-
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Convention memorial
seivice at Hill honors
passing of 9th memrers
Col Charles Lyons, Commander of the
388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, was
guest speaker during the 2003 9AFA
Convention memorial service held at
the base chapel on Sept. 22.
Roughly 50 9AFA members
interrupted the scheduled tour of
Salt Lake City and surrounding
area to attend a memorial service at
Hill AFB honoring those who have
passed away since the last annual
convention. Chaplain Robin
Stephenson (Capt, USAF) led the
ceremony with formal greetings,
opening prayer and a tribute to all
members who served valiantly in
the 9th Air Force.
Col. Charles Lyons, Com­mander
of the 388th Fighter Wing
at Hill, was guest speaker who said
the memorial is a time "to renew
memories of those who had fallen.
"We are here today to remem­ber
all who climbed into fighters
with resolve and those who sup­ported
the missions in damp, dark,
cold and uncertain conditions," he
- See Memorial on page 17
3
to t h e
Editor's Note: In addition to the kind words expressed by these writers, each and every one of them wanted reprints
of the last issue which omitted pages 17-20. Due to space limitations, we are lifting quotes, both good and not-so-good,
from each letter in hopes this issue answers that most-oft asked question... "where are the last four pages?"
Kudos on the new look
Congratulations on your first
issue. I would like to suggest that
you consider submitting the article
from Summer 2002 edition on
"Good Humor Men of the 9th AF" to
the READERS DIGEST. Item should
interest many and give the 9th a
good plug.
Keep up the good work.
Don Canto #2265
Add my name to the lost pages
- a good publication Karen - read it
from cover to cover. Your doing a
great job.
Don Champlain, Life Member
Melbourne, FL
Congratulations. I received my
copy of the Flyer yesterday. It is
certainly a quality newsletter, well­balanced
and a great step ahead of
the past.
John Moench
Longwood, FL
I received the FLYER and I am
impressed with it. I think it
is a· tremendous start. I have heard
from MSgt Sarah Cochran and she
also mentioned how much she
enjoyed it. Perhaps we are on ~he
right road to reach the younger
generation. Hope it keeps up.
Lloyd Johnson
Lincoln, NE
4
I received my Summer 2003
issue of the 9th A/F Flyer and was
thrilled at the Hq 50th Troop Carrier
Wing/441st TC Group ad. I had no
idea when I sent the information to
you that the 9th Flyer was changing
that much and we would receive
such good coverage.
Thank you so much for the
changes in the new issue giving us a
sample of what we can expect in the
future.
Frank Ehrman
What a surprise when I received
the Summer Flyer today, Saturday,
Aug 9th! Having been a teacher, I
wouldgive it my best rating, A+, and
two thumbs up, and more thumbs if I
had more!
Also, the idea of incorporating
ads, in my opinion is a good idea.
There may be some 9th AF comrades
who would be interested in subscrib­ing
to an ad for their businesses.
I haven't read all of the stories yet,
but they seem like the stories that
would appeal to the readers of the
Flyer.
Karen has gotten off to a mag­nificent
start, and hopefully we
get some good stories coming in
from members. -The airmen
should have some good stories, and
photos to share.Congratulations
Karen, you got my vote!
Orv Iverson,
Woodside, CA
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Although I have no experience
in the printing business (what I know
wouldn't cover a microdot), I would
like to echo the sentiments of my pal
Sahlberg.
In my line of work we say 'The
guy who never made a mistake never
made anything.'
The only negative aspect of the
matter as far as I'm concerned is the
remarks I've received from my co­author
regarding the relative quality
of the part that appeared vis a vis the
part that didn't. Rest assured how­ever,
that he won't be allowd to crow
too loudly for too long.
Don Summers
Hi Karen: Been there, done that as
the saying goes. I have a feeling
THE NINTH FLYER now has a
'new' Editor that has two sets of
eyes, two sets of ears and two noses
that sniff out and look for Production
errors. Let those that have not sinned
cast the first stone.
I did forget to mention one other
thing. In the title of the article we are
all interested in it should read:
HISTORIANS LINK TO RECALL
1944 TYPHOON DISASTER.
I went to England in 1943 but
the Typhoon's crash took place in the
summer of 1944. Again, best wishes,
Del Sahlberg
See Letters on page 1 o
s
We regret to inform you of the
following passings since our last
publication.
May they rest in peace ...
Lewis Walker 441 TCG 301 TCS
passed away February 9th, 2003
John Nabozny, Sr 61 TCGP 78 SVSQ
passed away December 25, 2002
Charles Standing 1st Tran GP 316 Sq
(no date given)
John Ferguson 354th FG 356 FS
passed away June 7, 2003
Frank H. Mears VHL2628; 57FG
passed away August 4, 2003
William Pataki 79 SV Sta. Comp
passed away January 13, 2003
Robert J. Racine 362/377
Warren W. Sorensen 48/ 493
George T. Johnson 50/1 O
Robert D. McKee 36 2nd FG 379 FS
Robert F. Sladek, Sr. 9ADJQ
Fenmore R. Seton 507 TCG/327 CSQ
Charles Stallings 322 BG/451 BS
Francis MacDonald
Emmett Reyman 36 FG
Earl C. Hedlund 47 4 FG/669 BS
Heavenly Thoughts
God brings men into deep waters
not to drown them, but to
cleanse them.
-Aughey
TAP
mman
___ ..&JllL_Mears
pilot
at92
From the mo­ment
he entered
the Army Air
Corps, all Frank
H. Mears wanted
to do was fly.
Beginning
Col. Frank Mears
with biplanes and
finishing two
decades later in F-104s which
exceeded the speed of sound, Col.
Mears got his wish.
A decorated, WWII fighter pilot
whose military career spanned nearly
30 years, Mears died Aug. 4, at
home of natural causes, according to
his daughter, Gina Mears.
In August, 1942, on the aircraft
carrier Ranger, Mears commanded
72 aircraft in the 57th Fighter Group.
His efforts resulted in a Distin­guished
Flying Cross and a Legion
of Merit.
Fifty years later, he was awarded
a plaque from alumni of the 57th
Fighter Group and the 9th Air Force
honoring him for being the first
member of the group to "take off
planes from a carrier without an
accident or fatality."
Born and raised in the Los
Angeles area, Mears grew up in a
Latino family and spoke both
English and Spanish. He attended
college before joining the military in
1932.
Mears learned to fly biplanes in
flight training. Later, stationed
aboard the Ranger - the lone large
carrier in the Atlantic Fleet at the
time - he flew P-40 pursuit aircraft.
In the early 1950s, Mears served
as a NATO commander at the
organization's Fontainebleau,
France, headquarters. Subsequent
assignments took him to Tripoli,
Libya and Eglin AFB in Florida.
Before retirement in 1960,
Mears served as commander of
Edwards Air Force Base where he
flew the F-104 Starfighter, the first
aircraft to fly at twice the speed of
sound and holding numerous air­speed
and altitude records.
As a civilian in San Diego,
Mears played golf regularly and took
pride in a vast record collection, rich
in Mexican ranchero and big-band­era
tunes. He also enjoyed ballroom
dancing and loved maintaining his
two 1955 Ford Thunderbirds.
Survivors include his wife of 63
years, Regina; daughters Gina Mears
of Hawaii; Katherine Dice of Horse
Creek, California, and son Paul
Mears of San Diego; 12 grandchil­dren
and six great grandchildren.
Services were held Aug. 13.
Please send obituary notices to:
Editor, The Ninth Flyer, c/o Suncoast Graphics,
301 Bayshore Drive, Niceville, Florida 32578.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003 5
W TNESS
Historians link to recall I-~ Typhoon di&Ner
Editor's note: This story is being reprinted in its entirety as the
second half was lost in the summer edition of The Flyer. Heartfelt
apologies to Messrs. Sahlberg and Summers for the omission.
The first year of my time in the
ETO was spent based at
USAAF Station #519, Grove,
England where my Squadron, the
43rd ADG, was located prior to
moving to France. We arrived there
the night of 1 October, 1943, and
were assigned to the 8th Air Force.
On 16 October, 1943, we were
officially transferred to the 9th Air
Force in preparation for the upcom­ing
Invasion of France. I was as­signed
to the Repair Squadron whose
job it was to do major repairs of
aircraft of the 9th and return them to
combat. My responsibilities were in
the area of aircraft retrieval and
transportation.
On 25 October, I was placed on
Detached Service to the 26th M R &
R Squadron located near Thatcham
(Greenham Common) to assist in
assembly of the thousands of assault
gliders (CG-4A's) arriving in crates
from ports around the UK.
On 11 December, I was trans­ferred
back to Grove to recover from
injuries received two days earlier in
London. With a few exceptions my
operations thereafter were conducted
from my home base of Grove.
24 July, 1944-Notes from my
diary-Around noon returned to
base (Station 519 Grove) in time for
chow. Later we were sitting around
in the warm summer sunshine when
the sound of low flying aircraft
caused us to look up. Suddenly an
American P-51 and a British Ty­phoon
came roaring across the field
and a mock dogfight ensued. After a
6
minute the P-51 pulled straight up
from a position nearly 'on the deck'
and the Typhoon followed in close
pursuit. The Typhoon climbed
straight up as it endeavoured to catch
the American plane. Suddenly it
began to falter, falling off on one
wing and diving straight towards the
ground. From all around came shouts
of "PULL UP, PULL UP." It was
only afterwards I realized that I had
been shouting as well.
The 'power on' death dive went
straight in, ending in a muted 'bang'
and a column of black smoke. For
several minutes, nobody moved, then
we began to disperse quietly without
another word. The crash was but a
few miles north of the airfield on
which we stood.
-Fast forward to December, 1996
In response to a letter I had
written to "The Ninth Flyer" ex­pressing
my interest in WWII and
Grove Airfield in particular, I
received a letter from Grove, written
by an Englishman by the name of
Donald Summers. I quicldy learned
he was seriously interested in finding
all he could about the U.S. presence
in England and in the history of the
Americans at Grove, Station 519 in
particular. His home is located in
what was area five of my old air­field.
A warm ongoing friendship
developed, with endless information
exchanged.
During the ensuing months,
along with other matters, Don kept
me informed of the progress that he
and his colleagues were making as
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
by Del Sahlberg and Don Summers
they tried to discover details of the
crash nearby of a Typhoon during
the summer of 1944. This, of course,
was the event I had witnessed so
many years before. Don and his
organization, the Ridgeway Military
and Aviation Research Group, keen
to record the WWII history of the
area, were interested in discovering
all about the circumstances of that
crash.
--Don Summers' account
It was while interviewing a lady
from a nearby village about an
unrelated matter, that I learned of the
crash of a Typhoon aircraft during
WWII. Mrs. Vickers had been
washing her baby prior to starting
her 2 p.m. shift at the local aircraft
component factory. She recalled
hearing the plane crash and watching
horrified as it burned in the field
behind her house. It was summertime
she said, and she remembered the
fire truck driving across the com
stubble to the wreck, the noise of the
plane's ammunition burning off
causing her to worry for her father's
safety, for he had just wallced off to
work along the lane close to that
field.
Later, at the factory, someone
told her that the plane was a Ty­phoon
and confirmed that there had
been no hope for the pilot. She had
always wondered why it was that the
two Americans in the brick hut a
hundred yards from the crash had not
heard a thing.
I consulted Mike Berrie, our
archivist, and asked if he could come
up with more information about the
-See Typhoon on page 20
Editor's note: In response to the Typhoon Disaster story beginning
on page 6, Gilbert C. Burns, Jr., a P-47 pilot, provided this pas­sage
of his account of a similar (or perhaps the same) accident
witnessed by Sahlberg and Summers. It's an excerpt from a story
by Jeff Ethell appearing in a recent edition of "Fighter Command."
On July 16, 1944, I took off from
the OTU at Atcham, England, with
no particular objective in mind. The
razorback P-4 7 was 41- 6237, an old
one, one of the first few hundred
made at Farmingdale, NY. Its cost
then was about $85,000. When a
fighter pilot flies, he is supposed to
keep his head turning, constantly
watching in all directions. The
reason, of course, being that no
enemy aircraft could approach and
catch you by surprise.
I was flying in the vicinity of
Shrewsbury
and my mind
was not on
flying, but on
other things. I
few hundred feet up and inverted.
So this blonde ATA pilot must
have felt pretty proud after catching
me asleep at the wheel, and she dove
off down to the left. Being more than
annoyed with myself, I jumped on
her tail and followed her down. She
led a merry chase on the deck, but I
clung to her. We were circling a huge
tree in a vertical bank when sud­denly,
my engine stopped. I glanced
at the fuel gauges; they checked out
OK, so with what power I had left, I
pulled up a few hundred feet to look
was not
looking around,
but staring
straight ahead.
I had "my head
up my ass." I
happened to
turn my head to
the left and lo
This is a photo of my crash, exact location not known.
My name and unfortunately the day date are removed.
I stole this photo from the CO's bulletin board and I
scratched off my name before sending it home so when
they censored the letter, they wouldn't connect me with
the photo! The truth is out.
for a crash
landing site. God
was with me
because there
was a field off to
the left and in I
went. I turned off
the ignition, shut
the gas line off,
put the flaps
down, wheels up,
trying to come in
a slowly as
possible.
and behold, what was sitting close to
my left wing but a Spitfire. It had
come up and caught me unwawares.
I was quite embarrassed and I .am
sure the Spitfire pilot was quite
pleased about it. I took a close look
at the pilot and there was blonde hair
coming down from beneath a white
flying helmet. A girl! One of the
English ATA ferry pilots. I knew that
those girls were great pilots. I had
seen them slow roll on takeoff from
our airfield. I had seen them in
Hurricanes fly across our field only a
I hit the ground tail first and
crash-slid to a stop. Releasing my
oxygen connection, radio cable and
safety belt, I jumped out and started
running in case the plane decided to
blow. I looked back over my shoul­der
at the plane while I was running
and what was chasing me but a bull!
I kept running and came to a barbed
wire fence that surrounded the field.
With the bull coming up fast, I
jumped over the fence. Going over
-See Blonde on page 17
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
- by Ray Lowman
Memo
from the
Chairman
I just wanted to send a big
'thanks' to the many members who
sent their voting ballots regarding
the proposed changes to our Bylaws.
The result was an overwhelming
approval of the changes.
Your interest and participation in
your Association's business is deeply
appreciated.
--Ray
9th Air Force
Commemorative
History Book
is now in production!
We are pleased to announce
that the book is slated for release
during the first quarter of 2004.
Hundreds of you already have
participated by including your
biographies, stories and photos.
If you haven't, it's not too late.
But you must act by Oct. 30, 2003.
Send materials to:
9th AF History Book
Turner Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 3101
Paducah, KY 42002-3101
To Order the book, call M-F
1-800-788-3350
Hard bound copy is $54 each
Leather bound copy is $94 each
Visa and MasterCard accepted.
www.turnerpublishing.com
7
WWII mag recounts
Bastogne adventures
Orv Iverson asked me to send
out a BOLO (cop term for Be On
The Lookout) for an article in the
September, 2003, issue of WWII
Magazine where a feature entitled A
Christmas Present for Bastogne is
written by Richard E. Killblane.
The piece recounts harrowing
parachute drops by 20 pathfinders
which were critical to the little town
and the U.S. troops defending it
against the Germans. Written plainly,
a scrappy group of soldiers of the
506th Parachute Infantry created a
makeshift outfit known as the "Filthy
13," who by all accounts should
never have succeeded in the missions
with which they were tasked. As it
was, combat during the lOlst
Airborne Division's grueling 72 days
on the line in Holland had reduced
the band from 13 to three.
Finally succeeding in their
mission, aerial resupply missions
resumed, but not before the Filthy 13
had performed some of the finest
work of their lives. In all, Jake
McNiece, Schrable Williams,
George Blain and Locldand Dillon,
all of the 506th, finished the war
with four combat jumps each. No
one unit had made more than three
jumps and most only made two.
These American paratroopers hold
the unique honor of being the only
group to survive four combat jumps
during the war.
For more reading on the epic
defense of Bastogne, find it on the
net at www.thehistorynet.com. See
4th Annored Division Spearhead at
Bastogne, by Alvin F. Irzyk.
A great, short read which
identifies Troop Carrier members
you may know. Some may still be
with us today. Check it out!
8
DESKTOP
Perspective
by Frank Ehrman
I sat in my seat of the Boeing
767 waiting for everyone to hurry
and stow their carry-ons and grab a
seat so we could start what I was
sure to be a long, uneventful flight
home. With the huge capacity and
slow moving people talcing their time
to stuff luggage far too big for the
overhead and never paying much
attention to holding up the growing
line behind them, I simply shook my
head knowing that this flight was not
starting out very well.
I was anxious to get home to see
my loved ones so I was focused on
"my" issues and just felt like stand-.
ing up and yelling for some of these
clowns to get their act together. I
knew I couldn't say a word so I just
thumbed through the "Sky Mall"
magazine from the seat pocket in
front of me. You know it's really
getting rough when you resort to the
over priced, useless sky mall crap to
brealc the monotony.
With everyone
finally seated, we just sat there with
the cabin door open and no one in
any hurry to get us going, although
we were well past the scheduled take
off time. No wonder the airline
industry is in trouble I told myself.
Just then,
the attendant came on the intercom
to inform us all that we were being
delayed. The entire plane let out a
collective groan. She resumed
speaking to say "We are holding the
aircraft for some very special people
who are on their way to the plane
and the delay shouldn't be more than
five minutes. The word came after
waiting six times as long as we were
promised that "I" was finally going
to be on my way home.
Why the hoopla over "these" folks? I
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
was expecting some celebrity or
sport figure to be the reason for the
hold up ......... Just get their butts in a
seat and let's hit the gas I thought.
The attendant came back on the
speaker to announce in a loud and
excited voice that we were being
joined by several U. S. Marines
returning home from Iraq! ! !
Just as they walked on board, the
entire plane erupted into applause.
The men were a bit taken by surprise
by the 340 people cheering for them
as they searched for their seats. They
were having their hands shook and
touched by almost everyone who
was within an arm's distance of them
as they passed down the aisle. One
elderly woman kissed the hand of
one of the Marines as he passed by
her. The applause, whistles and
cheering didn't stop for a long time.
When we were finally airborne,
"I" was not the only civilian check­ing
his conscience as to the delays in
"me" getting home, finding my easy
chair, a cold beverage and the remote
in my hand. These men had done for
all of us and I had been complaining
silently about "me" and "my" issues.
I took for granted the everyday
freedoms I enjoy and the conve­niences
of the American way of life
when others paid the price for my
ability to moan and complain about a
few minutes delay. Those heroes
were going home to their loved ones.
I attempted to get my selfish
outlook back in order and minutes
before we landed I suggested to the
attendant that she announce over the
speaker a request for everyone to
remain in their seats until our heroes
were allowed to gather their things
and be first off the plane.
The cheers and applause contin­ued
until the last Marine stepped off
See Perspective on page 17
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Great Warrior, Croix de Valeur Awards presented at convention
Nearly 50 members and their
wives attended the 9th AFA banquet
on 23 Sept. to wrap up four days of
feasting, touring and fellowship.
During closing ceremonies, the
Association's Croix de Valeur and
Great Warrior Awards were pre­sented.
The recipient of the Great
Warrior Award, Captain Marty
Golden was in attendance with his
wife and 7 month old daughter. Also
in attendance were his proud parents,
Martin Sr. and Judy Golden.
"We went to Headquarters as
our only source of award candi­dates,"
said Lloyd Johnson, 9AFA
Director. "While the press really
builds up some, it's the guys who
really know what's what at Head­quarters.
We wanted to recognize the
active establishment. That where our
future is."
The two awards represent the
best of the best in flying and non­flying
careers within the 9th Air
Force. The following are the cita­tions
which were presented at the
banquet.
Great Warrior-Captain
Martin J. Golden was on 'alert
status' as the HC-130 Aircraft
Commander, 71 st Expeditionary
Rescue Squadron on 13 June, 2002,
in support of operation Enduring
Freedom. While on alert, Golden
was notified that an MC-130-H had
crashed while resupplying Special
Forces troops searching for Taliban
Al-Qaeda fighters in eastern Af­ghanistan,
southwest of Gardez.
Golden and his crew were airborne
within 24 minutes of notification.
Immediately, they acquired coordi­nates
and assisted the Joint Search
and Rescue Center in traffic
deconfliction while preparing to
support the rescue helicopters tasked
to pick up the seven survivors.
Golden and crew realized the
rescue helicopters would need in­flight
refueling and coordinated the
operation to occur in the best pos­sible
location to facilitate the quick
delivery of survivors to the nearest
medical facility. Overcoming an
almost complete lack of illumination,
Golden used night vision goggle­modified
contour procedures to
navigate treacherous mountains
while refueling as low as 300 feet
above ground level in terrain as high
as 8,000 feet above sea level. The
helicopters were heavily laden,
critically low on fuel, and power
limited by the extreme altitude and
temperature. The combination of
these factors forced Golden to fly at
five knots above his HC-130's
minimum operating speed.
Overcoming all, Golden and
crew off-loaded 4,000 pounds of fuel
and enabled the helicopters to
deliver all seven crash survivors to
safety. The professional skill and
airmanship displayed by captain
Golden reflect highly on himself and
the United States Air Force.
Captain Martin J.
Golden and his w~e
April are shown
receiving the 9th AFA
Great Warrior
Award from Director
Lloyd Johnson during
the 2003 9th Air
Force Convention
in Salt Lake City.
THE NINTH ArR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
He has distinguis]J_ed himself as
a war fighting leader and a worthy
recipient from our Association for
this Award as being a Great Warrior.
Although not in attendance, the
recipient for the Croix de Valeur
Award was TSgt William Barnwell
IV, who was responsible for super­vising
a team of 11 weather techni­cians
providing direct weather
support to Bagram Air Base, Af­ghanistan
and assisting the Joint
METOC officer with coordinating
weather support for the entire
Afghanistan Joint Operations Area
during Operation Enduring Freedom.
He helped sustain weather operations
to support 7 ,000 personnel and 2,000
transient U.S. and coalition aircraft
during these operations. He single
handedly established the first ever,
fully operational pilot to metro radio
service for Bagram Air Base.
Sgt. Barnwell was a hand
picked member of a Special Opera­tions
Weather team that went into
harm's way to emplace two remote
miniature weather stations at classi­fied
locations within Afghanistan.
See Award on page 18
9
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.JI
50lh 1CSq h<m Belgians at Texas reunion
It all started with a letter
written in 1997 to the U.S. Army. A
small group of archeologists had
unearthed two C-4 7 s which had
crash landed in dense fog in April,
1944, near Soleblaster, Belgium. All
11 on board were lost.
The Army forwarded the letter
to 9th AFA member Bob Callahan in
Texas who struck up a correspon­dence
with the researchers, a small
band of archeologists consisting of
two families who have since created
a museum in Ensival, dedicated to
the memories of those on board and
the U.S. military services which
fought during WWII.
Christine Tillmanns and her
husband, Eric, their friend Gilbert
Pire (who serves as administrator at
Centre d' Archeologie Militaire) and
four other family members traveled
to San Antonio for the 50th Troop
Carrier Squadron, 314th Troop
Carrier Group's annual reunion held
--by Karen Spence
Sept. 17-20, 2003. Ms. Tillmanns,
the only person of her group who
speaks English, tried to explain how
important her nation views the find
and why they've provided countless
man-hours to create a museum to
honor the dead.
"When these two planes
crashed, the people in town memori­alized
the dead," Tillmanns said,
"The remains are entombed in
graces at Margratten City. When we
got word about the squadron those
planes were from, we were able to
identify the dead and create the
museum with artifacts from the site
and donated items from the squad-ron.
"We wrote a letter to Bob
Callahan and he told us the story,
giving us the information we needed
to recreate the crash site. We now
have two memorial plaques, one for
each plane, memorializing those
--See Museum on page 24
From right-Christine Tillmanns is shown with Eric's mother, Marie Therese, followed by Eric and Gilbert
Pi re, lead archeologist of the C-47 excavation. Pi re's wife Dominique is at left with their daughter Marie and
son Maxime in front. The two families were scheduled to make a trip to Disney World in Florida before
returning to their home in Belgium.
10 THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Letters from page 4
Thanks for the fun!
I wanted to write a few words
about a recent trip to Etain, France
with Stan Stepnitz, Fern Mann and
Robert Searl. Stan and Fern summed
up the trip very well with their
articles in the last edition (summer
2003) of the "Flyer". I would like to
just add a thank you for the super
time the four of us had. I feel
privileged to share my travel experi­ence
with those who have done so
much for our Country.
Fern, thank you for bringing some
sanity to our adventure and being a
great navigator. Bob, I loved being
your "seeing eye dog"; although I
am sure that you felt much better
and safer with Sylvie holding your
arm. And Stan, what can I say? I'm
going to have to brush up on my wit
just a little to stay ahead of you!
Who said you guys were over 80
years old, anyway? (Not you, Fern.)
Being able to assist WWII vets
wanting to retrace their experiences
in Europe has been one of the
highlights of my life - a small
contribution compared to their
service.
To your health!
Jim Sygitowicz
Olympia, WA
Cola v Water has merit
Congratulations on a new and
beautiful 9th Flyer.
I read with interest "Tidbits"
Water or Cola. Quite recently, my
wife spilled some "Sprite" on her
light green slacks. The next day, the
area had turned white.
Keep up the fine work.
Frank "Pete" Neason
Traverse City, Ml
A I SEE IT
Never Unprepared by Randolph J. Hils
The 440th Troop Carrier Group in Operation Neptune
"Nunquam Non Paratus" the
Latin translates, "Never Unpre­pared."
So read the motto of the
440th Troop Carrier Group of the 9th
Troop Carrier Command of the 9th
Air Force in WWII. Quite a motto to
live up too, a motto and a legacy still
held high by the 440th Airlift Wing
of the Air Force Reserve. The 440th
Troop Carrier Group would be tested
time and again over the battlefields
of Europe in WWII, the invasion of
Southern France, at Holland,
Mortain, Bastogne, OPERATION
VARSITY, the Rhine Crossing and
on hundreds of missions in between.
The first test was Normandy, June 6,
1944.
For the 440th, the path to
Normandy was a long one. The
440th formed on July 1, 1943 and
the following eleven months were
dedicated to learning and practicing
a specialized form of combat flying,
the delivery and resupply of airborne
troops by parachute and glider
behind enemy lines. It was called
"vertical envelopment" or the third
dimension of warfare, regarded by
many to have been the most impor­tant
development of tactics in the
20th Century. To America, struggling
to gear up for war, it was a new
tactic, the troop carrier and their
airborne comrades would pioneer its
development in an evolutionary
series of missions that would forever
prove it's worth.
Sometimes mistalcenly referred
to generically as transport pilots, a
troop carrier pilot' specialized
training and combat flying set them
apart from the Air Transport Com-mand
who operated the same type
aircraft but whose mission was
primarily freight and passenger
transport outside the combat zone.
The troop carrier crews do not
seem to have been envied in their
missions by their fellow 9th Air
Force fighter or bomber crews. Their
missions were predominantly flown
in the twin engine Douglas C-4 7
Skytrain, the military adaptation of
the DC-3 airliner. Having no cabin
pressurization or oxygen systems the
troop carrier pilots had to learn
quicldy how to gauge and fly in
weather. Restricted in altitude they
didn't have the luxury of being able
to get above the weather and flew
through, often underneath the storm.
The C-4 7 's lacked the standard
features of other tactical aircraft,
self-sealing fuel tanks, armor plating
or even defensive weapons.
The missions were executed at
altitudes and speeds considered
suicidal by other pilots. Generally
the troop carrier would execute their
attacks at 700 feet at night and 500
feet by day, at speeds between 100
and 125 miles per hour. Alternative
targets were not an option in air­borne
doctrine. Their missions,
flown over or into enemy positions
made them easy targets for small
arms and antiaircraft fire from the
ground. In the air, if unprotected by
covering fighters they were easy
prey for enemy fighters. What the C-
4 7 lacked, it made up in some
measure on these missions by its
supreme rugged durability. Often
horrendously shot up and damaged
planes would straggle in after a
THE NINTH AIR FoRcE AssocrATION, FALL 2003
mission landing more or less safely.
Stateside training for the 440th
TCG culminated in weeks of com­bined
exercises with the 17th and
82nd Airborne in North Carolina in
January of 1944. Pilots, crews and
planes were pushed to their absolute
limits on night missions before the
group departed for an arduous
overseas flight that would take in
total, eighty some hours of flying
time, often at night and through
weather. The group took the south­ern
Atlantic route through the
Caribbean to South America across
to Ascension Island, then on to
Africa before the final destination,
England.
Not yet tested in combat the
group was one of several that,
having completed training in the
states, was moved to England for
staging and further training for the
inevitable invasion of Europe. In
England the 440th was joined by,
other troop carrier groups from the
Mediterranean Theater as well as
other groups who arrived from the
states. Mediterranean units had seen
combat in North Africa, Italy and
Sicily, together the groups would
constitute the 9th Troop Carrier
Command.
Col. Frank X. Krebs com­manded
the 440th. Krebs was a
regular Army Air Force officer
whose flying career began in 1929.
Time and again on tough missions
Krebs' experience would serve the
group well and malce a measurable
difference between success and
disaster.
Supplanting Krebs' leadership
and experience were a cadre of
former airline captains that were
sprinlded throughout the troop
carrier training and combat com­mands.
It was a natural progression
----- See Unprepared on page 21
11
Ji
• Church Ladies and their Funny Tyiu;
Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences
actually appeared in church bulletins or were announced in
church services:
Bertha Belch, a missionary from
Africa, will be speaking tonight at
Calvary Methodist. Come hear
Bertha Belch all the way from
Africa.
Announcement in a church bulletin
for a national PAYER & FASTING
Conference: "The cost for attending
the Fasting & Prayer Conference
includes meals."
The sermon this morning: "Jesus
Walles on the Water." The sermon
tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
Our youth basketball team is back in
action Wednesday at 8 p.m. in the
recreation hall. Come out and watch
us kill Christ the King.
"Ladies, don't forget the rummage
Sale. It's a chance to get rid of those
things not worth keeping around the
house. Don't forget your husbands.
The peacemaking meeting scheduled
for today has been cancelled due to a
conflict.
Remember in prayer the many who
are sick of our community. Smile at
someone who is hard to love. Say
"Hell" to someone who doesn't care
much about you.
Don't let worry kill you off - let the
Church help.
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will
not pass this way again," giving
obvious pleasure to the congregation.
12
For those of you who have children
and don't know it, we have a nursery
downstairs.
Next Thursday there will be tryouts
for the choir. They need all the help
they can get.
Barbara remains in the hospital and
needs blood donors for more
transfusions. She is also having
trouble sleeping and requests tapes
of Pastor Jack's sermons.
The Rector will preach his farewell
message after which
the choir will sing: "Break Forth Into
Joy."
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were
married on October 24th in the
church. So ends a friendship that
began in their school days.
A bean supper will be held on
Tuesday evening in the church hall.
Music will follow.
At the evening service tonight, the
sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?"
Come early and listen to our choir
practice.
Eight new choir robes are currently
needed due to the addition of several
new members and to the deterioration
of some older ones.
Scouts are saving aluminum cans,
bottles and other items to be
recycled. Proceeds will be used to
cripple children.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Please place your donation in the
envelope along with the deceased
person you want remembered.
Attend and you will hear, an excellent
speaker and heave a healthy lunch.
The church will host an evening of
fine dining, superb entertainment
and gracious hostility.
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 p.m. -
prayer and medication to follow.
The ladies of the Church have cast
off clothing of every kind. They may
be seen in the basement on Friday
afternoon.
This evening at 7 p.m., there will be
a hymn sing in the park across from
the Church. Bring a blanket and
come prepared to sin.
Ladies Bible Study will be held
Thursday morning at 10 a.m. All
ladies are invited to lunch in the
Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
The pastor would appreciate it if the
ladies of the congregation would
lend him their electric girdles for the
pancalce breakfast next Sunday.
j 1nspirations I
Have patience with all things,
but first of all with yourself.
- St. Francis de Sales
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~
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THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
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i
~i
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Donald's Story A new and wonderfully unique book that adds
a different, human dimension to wartime literature has just
been published about the 4th FG. "Donald's Story" presents
a personal remembrance of author Sandra Merrill's uncle.
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Binding:Perfectbound 280 pages with illustrations $14.95
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THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
LIT 1 1
and the~ by Robert Huddleston
506th Fighter Sq., 404th Fighter Grp.
Pilots of the Ninth Air Force will
appreciate a recent article that
evaluated and determined the best of
the front-line fighters of the Second
World War. ("The Best WW II
Fighter: Which was number one?"
August 2003, Flight Journal).
The author is Corwin "Corky"
Meyer, an aircraft test pilot as far
back as 1942 who has accumulated
6,000 military-flight hours in a
dozen aircraft. Before reaching his
conclusion, Corky established four
criteria: (a) Constant production
improvement in combat capability,
(b) Four-mission capability, ( c) Pilot
compatibility and ( d) Service record.
Each of the four is described in
detail but number three "Pilot
compatibility"is especially interest­ing.
During WW II," Meyer reminds
us, "it was almost useless to design a
superb airplane that required an
experienced pilot. Experience pilots
didn't fight wars ... For that reason,
planes had to be comfortable enough
for a 200-hour, wartime-trained
pilot; they had to have docile flight
characteristics, high performance,
good cockpit design and outside
visibility, comfort, armored/self­sealing
fuel tanks and a resulting low
accident rate." (To place this in
context, readers are informed that of
the of 33,000 Me-109s build, 11,000
were destroyed during takeoff and
landing accidents!)
Here is Corky Meyer's ranking
of the "Top Dogs" of the European
air war: Listed in last place, number
(7) Lockheed P-38 Lightning; (6)
Messerschmitt Bf 109; (5) Russian
Yak-1 and Yak-9; (4) North Ameri­can
P-51 Mustang; (3) Supermarine
Spitfire/Seafire team; (2)Focke-Wulf
190 and number one the winner is ...
Republic's P-47 Thunderbolt!
Those who differ with the
rankings (having digested the entire
article) should direct their response
to: Corky Meyer, c/o Flight Jour­nal,
Hello,
My name is Marc Laurenceau
and I'm working on a book called
"Words of D-Day, Letters of Heros,
1942-1944," which will contain
letters and old books of soldiers
between 1942 and 1944. That's
what I'm looking for.
I am wondering if you have
documents or if you know some
addresses of British/ American/
Canadian/German veterans
who took part in the Overlord
Operation on June, 1944. I could
then correspond with them and ask
them to take part in the book's
writing.
If you have an idea, please
pass on my address here in France.
My email address is:
For
further information, please visit our
website address for the English
version: http://www.dday­overlord.
com/indexeng.htm.
Thanks for your help,
Yours sincerly,
Marc Laurenceau
Anny IG: try to reconstruct militaty records lost in fire
U.S. Army personnel who were
discharged between the dates of
Nov, 1912 and Jan, 1960, may wish
to reconstruct their military service
records, the originals of which were
destroyed by fire in the early 1970s.
According to LtCol. Thomas
Casciaro, Inspector General, around
18 million Official Military Person-nel
Files at the National Personnel
Records Center in St. Louis, MO,
were destroyed by a massive fire on
July 12, 1973. Service members
wishing to reconstruct their records
may do so by requesting a copy of
SF Form 180 and providing as much
detailed information about your time
in service as possible.
THE NINTH ArR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
You may write to the DOA,
Office of Inspector General, 1700
Army Pentagon, Washington, D.C.
20310-17 00 or visit the National
Personnel Records Center online at
http://www.archives.gov for more
info.
15
I
Ji
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Darnell lost in system; awarded Puiple eart ff) years later
He'd been shot in the chest by an
enemy fighter using a muzzle loader.
But at such a far distance, it barely
scathed him. He forgot about it.
Later he was blown out of his
gun pit. But because the only medic
in his unit had gone AWOL, he was
left to fend for himself. He pulled
shrapnel out of his leg and went on
about the business at hand-fighting
a war overseas. Again, he forgot
about it.
Sixty years later, Jack Darnell,
now 83, recounts his military
experiences as anything but normal.
Even as late as 2001, when he was
being treated at a veteran's hospital,
he didn't think anything about the
battle scars when hospital personnel
asked him, "you got a Purple Heart
for that, didn't you?"
Darnell's answer was, "no."
All that changed after hospital
staff assisted him in filling out
requisite forms this spring. But due
to a massive fire at the National
Personnel Records Center in 1973,
Darnell's case couldn't be
confirmed.
Not giving up, he continued his
correspondence with the Air Force
Board of Correction of Military
Records and finally, he got the news
he was waiting for.
"With all the pain and suffering,
they awarded me with the Purple·
Heart," Darnell said.
Awarded on May 24, in
Arlington, VA, by Col. John Larned,
Vice Commander of the 14th Air
Force, Darnell recounted his
experiences which led to his injuries
in a recent telephone interview with
The Flyer.
Originally, he was on detached
service to China on a special task
16
force when, in March of 1942, he
found himself in many different
nations overseas including: North
Africa, India, Arabia and numerous
spots in the Middle East. For more
than 10 months, he worked with the
RAF unbeknownst to U.S. officials
who had him listed as officially
missing in action, AWOL or worse,
dead.
When one of his unit's colonels
Never too late--
by ,Karen Spence
China, he was assigned to man a 50
caliber machine gun but again,
enemy fire hit his plane and he was
"blown out of the pit" suffering
shrapnel damage to his body.
"I was a sergeant working in
meteorology, but they had me
working all over the place," Darnell
explained. While working for the
British, I was ordered to report to
Yemen in July, 1942. I was ordered
to report
'without
insignia'
carrying
50,000
Mother
Teresa silver
dollars. Turns
out, the
British were
paying this
money to be
granted
airspace for
takeoffs and
landings.
realized he
was, in fact,
alive and
well, he was
transferred to
an Italian
Prison
Colony, then,
under secret
orders, he
was supposed
to be
transferred to
Cairo. But
those orders
never came
through as
the colonel
who found
him was
killed in a
"When I
asked why I
wasn't to
Jack Darnell stands with Col. John Larned, Vice Commander of
the 14th Air Force where he was awarded the Purple Heart
for injuries he sustained while serving his country during
World War II. wear my
insignia, I was
told it was 'government business.'
What they didn't tell me was what I
found out later," he said.
desert plane crash only eight miles
away, according to Darnell.
In his first combat incident,
Darnell said he was shot in the chest
by an enemy sniper who was using a
muzzle loader in Gura Eritrea,
Africa, . The ammunition penetrated
his skin but it "didn't go through to
the bone," he said. The fact that the
enemy was at some distance spared
him his life.
"It was like someone ldcked a
football into me," he added.
Later, as a Staff Sergeant in
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
"I learned that the last guy they
sent on this mission was a young
pilot who was flying bi-wing planes
for desert rescues. He had to make a
forced landing in Yemen territory. It
was there that the enemy castrated
him, stuffed his testicles in his
mouth and hung him in the desert for
several days until he died.
--See Darnell on page 24
----- Blonde from page 7
the barbs ripped the seat of my flying
suit and drew blood on my behind.
This was to be my only "wound" of
the war.
A jeep was sent for me finally
and I returned to base. After telling
my CO the story, I asked him in jest
if that "wound" would qualify me for
a Purple Heart. He quicldy informed
me that they did not give medals for
chasing blondes.
duties. A plea is made for someone
to volunteer to be Treasurer of our
Association.
Lloyd Johnson reported on cost
of placing a 9th AFA Memorial
Plaque at the Air Force Academy at
Colorado Springs. Cost of plaque
about $500.00. Motion made by
JUMP SHOTS
---- Perspective from page 8
and we all rose to go about our too
often, taken for granted, everyday
freedoms ..... I felt proud of them.
I felt it an honor and a privilege
to be among the first to welcome
them home and say 'thank you' for a
job well done. I vowed that I will
never forget that flight nor the lesson
learned.
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
WELCOME HOME! AND
THANKS FOR A JOB WELL
DONE!!!!!.
Secretary from page 3
Rosvold to have a plaque placed at
Air Force Academy. Second by
Ingrisano, Motion approved.
MOTION by Vito Pedone that
Current terms of officers be
extended one year. Second by
Johnson, Motion approved.
Meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
----Memorial from page 3
said. "This is a time of great
kinship and rememberance."
Lyons stated he felt it an
honor to appear before so many
retirees who had ventured to Salt
Lake City in an effort to keep the
flame of the 9 AFA kindled.
"The 9th Air Force began
with the invasion of North Africa
and it was the warm up which
turned into the major component
for the allied invasion during World
War II," he said. "Today's forces
feel honored to be following in
your footsteps, taking with them
your traditions and your sacrifices
as they prove themselves in Af­ghanistan
and Iraq. You gave a full
measure of your time and your
youth. Because of your support,,
they' re the best trained and best
equipped in the world. I feel certain
they'll all come back to us whole,"
he added.
Become a partner in the greatest militaty organization in the world
Join the 9th Air Force Association Today!
Clip and send to: Mary McCarthy, 9th Air Force Association I Membership Application
www .ninthairforceas soc. org
---(date) Referred bY-----(lnitials & Mem. #)
I apply for membership in the Ninth Air Force Association as:
0 A Veteran of 9thAF 0 Active duty of the 9thAF 0 An Associate who supports the purposes of 9AFA (Non-voting)
My Name:-------------Spouse:.-----------Country: ------
Address: City: ______ State: ______ Zip: ____ _
Home Phone : Bus.Phone : FaA-..·------ E-mail:.-----
if you have an alternating (winter/summer) address, please list with phone AND the months at each location.
List the 9th AF organizations to which you were assigned: (use separate sheet if 1001..1ou1-------------------
My Primary 9th AF Unit Number & Type.~: ___________________________ _
(e.g., Wing, Group, Sqdn., TAC, Hqtrs, Btn, Co, Depot, etc.) Location Approximate dates of assignment
Military Specialties: Civilian Career Specialties: _____________ _
Associates- Your 9AF relatives or special 9AF interest:
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003 17
i
.II
ARCHEOLOGY
Recoveiy teams head to WWII ~h sites in
Reprinted with permission from the European Stars and Stripes published on August 14, 2003. Stars and Stripes is a DoD publication.
Two search-and-recovery teams
from the U.S. Army's Central
Identification Laboratory will be in
Germany this week to search for the
remains of American aviators lost
during World War IL
One 13-member team heads to an
area in Westeregeln, to conduct
recovery operations, then moves to
Elsnig to investigate a possible crash
site, laboratory spokeswoman Ginger
Couden said in a news release.
The recovery effort in
Westeregeln will concentrate on the
remains of nine crewmen who were
aboard a B-24J Liberator bomber
shot down in the summer of 1944.
Assigned to the 856th Bombardment
Squadron, 492nd Bombardment
Group, the aircraft went down during
a mission near Bernberg. Historical
records indicate German aircraft
attacked and destroyed a formation
of 13 B-24s.
Once the recovery mission is
completed, the laboratory team will
move to Elsnig to investigate the loss
of a Lockheed P-38J Lightning pilot
from the 428th Fighter Squadron,
474th Fighter Group lost during a
dive-bombing mission in April 1945.
Last April, the laboratory
For his Service Before Self .
efforts. Sgt. Barnwell was awarded
the Bronze Star Medal while still a
Staff Sergeant. Upon returning home,
he energized his fellow weather
professionals and was promoted to
Technical Sergeant on his first test
after becoming eligible. His work
ethic is an example for his peers to
emulate. Hi is truly an outstanding
Air Force weather professional and a
18
received information on the possible
crash site, Couden said. The site is
believed to be in what once was a
restricted area of the former East
Germany.
Another laboratory team consist­ing
of a team leader, team sergeant,
medic, a forensic anthropologist, an
explosive ordnance disposal techni­cian,
a photographer and three
mortuary affairs specialists will
leave Hawaii on Friday for Belgium.
That 10-member team will
excavate a crash site in Retie,
Belgium, then travel to several
isolated burial sites in Shepr, Alba­nia.
The recovery mission in Bel­gium
is for a missing pilot of a C-
4 7 A Skytrain from the 9th Troop
Carrier Command who was shot
down in the fall of 1944.
Shortly after take-off from the
United Kingdom on a paradrop
mission, the aircraft crossed enemy
lines and sustained a direct hit from
small-arms anti-aircraft fire. The
aircraft crashed and 14 on board
were accounted for, but the pilot was
not.
In Albania, the team will focus
on locating the missing crew of a C-Award
from page 9
valuable asset to the U.S. Air Force.
Finally, a Distinguished
Service Award was presented
posthumously to George T. Johnson,
a lifetime aviator who, along with
his wife Loro Beth and daughter
Nancy, were loyal supporters of this
Association. George was a founding
member of the 9th AFA and served
as a local coordinator for our 2002
Convention in Branson, MO.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
4 7 A from the 28th Troop Carrier
Squadron, 60th Troop Carrier Group
that crashed in 1944 while conduct­ing
a resupply mission to Albania.
The aircraft and its crew of five
Americans and one British soldier
went down in a mountainous region.
Couden said reports indicate that
several days after the crash, Alba­nian
partisans recovered remains
from the crash site and buried the
group with honors in a churchyard.
Following the war, Couden said,
access for recovery teams into
Albania was restricted, but the
laboratory recently learned of the
location of the burials.
After completing the European
missions, the team will return to the
laboratory's Hawaii facility where
the largest staff of forensic anthro­pologists
in the world will begin
analysis on the recovered remains
and artifacts.
The recovery and identification
process may take years, Couden said.
Laboratory specialists identified
more than 1,120 individuals previ­ously
listed as unaccounted-for since
the laboratory began operations in
1973.
9AFA Director Lloyd Johnson (at right) presents a
Distinguished Service Award to Lora Beth (center)
and daughter Nancy for the contributions of the late
T. Johnson.
I
Ill
LOOKING BACK
The 9th Flyer has received some wonderful photographs
courtesy of O.M. Canto of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
They are from the XIX TAC History Book. If anyone knows
the whereabouts of this book, please contact staff at The Flyer.
Three important wheels in the Tactical Control Sysstem at XIX TAC.
From left: Major Noble L. Hull, Commanding Officer of the 312th Fighter
Control Sq. Lt. Col. William McBride, Commander of the 563rd Signal
AW Battalion and Maj. John Kersch, Commander of the 316th Fighter
Control Sq.
Lt. Orson C. Norton, Flying Control Officer with the 362nd
Fighter Group, shown giving landing instructions to a
squadron of P-47s just returning from a hectic dive-bomb­ing
mission somewhere over Germany.
Capt. John Easton, Commander of the 738th S.A.W. Company and
Capt. Clarence "Shorty" Long, Chief Controller, study a mission map.
MSgt. John Graves, CO, "D" 932nd Battalion, being decorated with
the Bronze Star by his Commander, Major Bertand Fowler, for ex­ceptionally
meritorious service.
At left:A Tactical Air Radio team at 79th Division gets ready to do a
little "cooperating." Sgt. Robert Griffis adjusts his microphone while
Sgt. Joseph Benikowsky sets up the VEEP Antenna.
A big Thank You to the publisher of the XIX TAC History
Book. If you'd like to see more of these pies, just drop us
a line and each quarter we'll be happy to reprint as many
as we can.-Editor
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003 19
I
.Ii
-----------------Typhoon from page 6 His test flight completed,
Captain Jackson was preparing to
land when a British single engine
plane appeared. No need for words
in such a situation. In next to no
time, the two aircraft were dogfight­ing,
the two pilots testing each other
and their aircraft as they twisted all
over the sky. To Mike's surprise, the
Typhoon latched on to the tail of the
US plane and stuck like glue. The
two planes flew low over the main
runway and zoomed straight up.
Suddenly, there was an awful
metallic clunk, and the Typhoon fell
away, turned on its back and dived
straight into the ground with a
sickening thud. Mike could see that
the pilot had no hope of surviving.
He heard the airfield crash truck
drive off, but knowing it was point­less,
turned away with heavy heart.
Later that day, he was told the crash
had occurred close to the airfield's
inner radio beacon, a small brick hut.
crash. A few weeks later, he
called to say he'd discovered the
date of it, 24 July, 1944, and applied
for a copy of the official record.
Another two weeks and he called
with the details:
The crash report stated that 21
year old Lieutenant Capstick-Dale,
from S. Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe)
had been with the 2nd Tactical
Evaluation Unit, training for ground
support operations. On 24 July,
1944, he was returning to his home
base 40 miles West of Grove after a
rocket-firing exercise on the East
coast. The tragedy had occurred 'due
to abrupt engine failure, possibly
after unauthorized mock air combat
with an unknown U.S. aircraft. ' The
pilot had been buried with full
military honors in the Common­wealth
War Grave section of an
Oxford cemetery.
I took the landowner to see the
grave to convince him that there
could be no human remains in the
wreckage, and he then consented for
us to search the crash site, near the
village of East Hanney. We did, but
to no avail. All traces of the crash
had disappeared, as had the mysteri­ous
nearby brick hut. All we found
were a few traces of broken brick,
pulverized by years of plowing. That
appeared to end the story and it
seemed unlikely that we would find
any further details of that day.
--Fast-forward to September 1997
The Harley Hotel, Middleburg
Heights, Ohio and the last official
reunion of the 45th ADG who were
also operational on Grove Airfield,
Station 519 in 1944.
Don Summers flew in from his
home in Grove, England and Del
Sahlberg flew in from Elmira, New
York. During the next few days, they
met with several of the 45th ADG
group in the Hospitality Room of the
20
"Gunfire Reunion" and quicldy made
friends. Tales were told and old
memories were recalled and ex­changed.
At one of these 'breeze­shooting
sessions,' a group was
seated around a table when one of
the 45th ADG group, ex-Sergeant
and Crew Chief Merle (Mike)
Mooney began to speak. As he did,
the hair came up on the back of the
necks of two of his listeners.
Mike asked, "What was that
British plane they had that had a sort
of double Merlin engine in it?" Don
quickly responded that it was a
Typhoon. "Taaphoon" said Mike,
"That was it!" Then came his story.
Mike remembered in his slow
Texas drawl the time a 9th Air Force
Colonel had brought in his A-36 (the
dive-bomber version of the P-51)
saying the airbrakes didn't work.
Mike worked through the night on
the hydraulic system and got every­thing
worldng. The Colonel took it
for a check ride next morning and
returned to give Mike hell, saying
the airbrakes still didn't work right.
This time, Mike threw the book
away and replaced the old wings
with a brand new pair from a P-51.
However, the Colonel was in a
hurry and had returned to his unit, so
the plane was taken up by the 45th's
own flight check pilot, Captain
Royle Jackson. The day was warm
and sunny so Mike walked outside
the hangar to watch as the plane was
thrown around the sky in a spirited
display of acrobatics.
The two occupants of this hut
were using earphones and never
heard what was happening outside.
That was it. The rest of the story
has now been told. Countless
Commanding Officers of Fighter
Groups have strictly forbidden
unauthorized dogfighting and
countless young men in high­performance
machines have ignored
their orders. All too often the results
have been the same as when a test
pilot and a young Typhoon pilot
pitted themselves against each other
that afternoon in the sldes over
Grove Airfield, Station 519.
Want to become a member of the 9th AFA?
Whether you're a veteran of the 9th AF,
still serving in the 9th AF
or support the purposes of the 9AFA
We Want You!
Visit us online at
www.ninthairforceassoc.org
THE NINTH AIR FORCE AssocIATION, FALL 2003
for the Army Air Force Reserve
pilots employed by the airlines to be
called on to help form, train and lead
in troop carrier in that they had long
experience flying the DC-3. In turn
troop carrier, benefited from the
experience they brought with them in
the form of advanced weather flying,
something the AAF did not put into
standard practice until mid 1943.
The airline captains were arguably
the best and most experienced twin
engine pilots in the country when the
war began. In a 1995 letter, Krebs
would write of the value of these
men in his command.
As the English winter fought to
keep it's grip in the early months of
1944 the 440th began another series
of exercises with airborne units that
culminated in OPERATION EAGLE
the final full scale dress rehearsal for
the airborne assault on Normandy.
June 4, 1944 came and went
with the postponement of the inva­sion
because of the weather. At
Exeter, their base in southern En­gland
the aircrews of the 440th
waited along with the paratroopers
for the orders to launch the mission.
The paratroopers of the 3rd Battal­ion,
506th Parachute Infantry
Regiment, 101 st Airborne and
elements of the 326th Airborne
Engineer Battalion were sequestered
in closely guarded compounds on the
base. Finally, June 5th they received
the orders to proceed to their planes,
the mission was on. The waiting and
long months of training were over. In
the waning daylight hours of the
long days of British Double Sum­mertime
paratroopers began loading
aboard their planes at Exeter.
Boarding Krebs' aircraft
along with the 3rd Battalion Com­mander,
Lt. Col. Robert L.
Wolverton and his headquarters stick
was, Ward Smith a "News of the
Unprepared from page 11
World" War Correspondent who
would record the mission in his
report, "I Saw Them Jump to Des­tiny."
Another notable group board­ing
one of the 440th planes was the
Filthy 13, an elite demolitions and
sabotage squad. The legendary Filthy
13 are thought to be the inspiration
for E.M. Nathanson's novel and
movie, The Dirty Dozen.
At 11 :50 PM, the heavily loaded C-
47 s of the 440th TCG began lifting
off the runways at Exeter to join
other troop carrier groups heading to
marshalling points from their bases
scattered over the midlands and
southern England. More carefully
timed than an intricate ballet each
aircraft in each squadron of each
group had an assigned place within
the V of V formations, each squad­ron
a place within the group, each
group an assigned place in the
massive formation. This facilitated
delivery of units in order specified.
Each V was nine planes wide
comprised of three flights of three
aircraft. The 440th launched 45
aircraft of its four squadrons, the
95th, 96th, 97th and 98th Troop
Carrier Squadrons. They made up
the last serial of many required to
deliver the lOlst Airborne into three
drop zones. With precise timing the
440th joined the massive formation
of 821 C-4 7 s that carried more than
13,000 paratroopers of the 82nd and
101 st Airborne Divisions into
Normandy. The 440th's destination,
DZ (drop zone) D, southwest of Ste.
Marie Du-Mont, forever after known
as" the Bloody DZ."
Unbeknownst to Frank Krebs
and his pilots a series of obstacles
threatened to undo the carefully laid
plans of the air assault. At the lead of
the great raid were the planes and
paratroopers of the elite Pathfinder
units whose mission was to mark the
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
drop zones with lights and radio
beacons to guide the oncoming C-
47 s. A thick fog and enemy contact
however prevented some of the
Pathfinders from completely fulfill­ing
their missions as designed. Also
looming ahead a massive cloud bank
formed out of a rising ground fog,
which scattered many of the forma­tions
as pilots were forced into
separation procedures to avoid
collisions. SHEAF had failed to
provide contingencies in the orders
for weather and the orders mandated
strict radio silence. Weather data for
Normandy indicated that during
June, low clouds appeared three out
of every four nights. This serious
planning error would set the stage
for what was to come. The pilots
would not lmow what lay ahead.
The formation headed into the
night southwest, out into the English
Channel on an indirect course. It
brought the attacldng force into the
Cotentin Peninsula of France from
the windward side, flying 500 feet
off the water to avoid German radar
and flying a precarious 100 feet
between their wingtips. The 440th
first came under fire as they passed
the Guernsey Islands but it was
without effect as they were out of
range of the German guns.
The coast of France was now
visible, the planes gained altitude to
prepare for the drop. Correspondent
Ward Smith noted, "The land slid by,
silent and gray. And still nothing
happened. Some of the paratroopers
chorused "Put that pistol down
Momma," and "For Me and My
Girl." The peninsula was roughly 20
miles wide and at the cruising speed
of 140 m.p.h. the planes would be
back over the Channel in less than
ten minutes.
Frank Krebs recognized the
hazardous cloud that was the undo-
----- See page 22
21
ing of many of the formations that
preceded the 440th and quicldy
changed altitude. His plane was the
only aircraft in the serial that was
equipped with radar and receivers
that picked up the radio signals sent
by the Pathfinders on the drop zones.
The pilots following his lead did so
on visual contact with the dirn blue
formation lights that marked the tops
of the wings and fuselages of the
planes. Most of his pilots stayed with
hirn maintaining the formation.
It was in the last six miles before
DZ D that the 440th came under
concentrations of flak, machine gun
and small arms fire. The ride got
rougher as hits and near misses
damaged and buffeted the aircraft.
Winds gusted from twenty to thirty
lmots, far in excess of wind speed
considered safe for combat jumps.
The defenders utilized search lights
and phosphorus flares, illuminating
the targeted planes and blinding
pilots by destroying their night
vision.
Within two miles of DZ D,
Flight Leader Captain Donald M.
Orcutt caught the flash of a bright
explosion off to his right. He would
later conclude that the rnornent
marked the point that the "DONNA
MAE" piloted by 1st Lt. Ray B.
Pullen suffered catastrophic damage.
"He must have put up a terrific
struggle to keep the airplane in the
air. Otherwise how does one explain
the aircraft corning to earth 20 miles
north of the DZ." One only need
imagine the extent of the damage
that would prevent any of the crew
or paratroopers from escaping from
the burning plane in the last desper­ate
miles. The French that witnessed
the plane go down near Magneville
said that it appeared that the pilot
made last ditch effort was made to
clear farm buildings before the ill­fated
crash that claimed the lives of
22
Unprepared from page 21
all the crew and paratroops aboard.
In the final miles to the DZ the
440th lost two more planes to enemy
fire, both struggled on before
crashing into the Channel. It is
believed all the aircrew and para­troopers
in those aircraft perished
except for two lucky paratroopers
who got out of one of the plummet­ing
planes, landing in waist deep
water off of Pointe-Du-Hoc. When
the Rangers made their assault on
Pointe-Du-Hoc later in the early
morning the two troopers believed
the Rangers to be, a rescue team sent
after them. The two 101st rnen
would fight over the next days along
side the Rangers.
It seems almost incomprehen­sible
now that the American para­troopers
were not equipped with a
quick release device to enable them
to shed their harnesses fast when
they landed. Such devices were
already in use among German and
British airborne forces. The lack of
this simple device left paratroopers
to cut themselves either from the
harness straps or to cut the risers and
shed the harness later. Otherwise a
rnan might fumble for many tense
minutes trying to undo the bucldes of
the chute. When things turned bad,
they were quick to tum to worse as a
trooper landed in water or in close
proximity to the enemy and many
did. The struggle to free oneself
from the harness became a life and
death situation.
This night luck was not with the
3rd Battalion of the 506th. Because
of the area and its close proximity to
key points, the Germans had antici­pated
the use as a drop zone by the
invaders. As such it was ringed with
heavy concentrations of troops,
machine guns and flak wagons. As
the planes flew over, the signal
passed from plane to plane for the
3rd Battalion to jump. The Germans
THE NINTII AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
ignited a farm building that had been
soaked in fuel. The resulting fire lit
up the drop zone and silhouetted the
soft gray underbellies of the C-4 7 s
and the parachutists against the dark
sky. It was 1:40 AM, Jurte 6, 1944.
Correspondent Smith recorded
the rnornent for posterity, "I wish I
could play up that rnornent, but there
was nothing to indicate that this was
the supreme climax. Just a whistling
that lasted for a few seconds - and
those rnen, so young, so brave, had
gone to their destiny. I'd expected
them to whoop battle-cries, to raise
the roof in that last fateful rnornent.
But not one of them did. They just
stepped silently out into the red
night, leaving behind only the echo
of the songs they had been singing."
Though the field orders directed
the pilots to drop their troops "with
in the combat area" should the drop
zone be missed on the first run,
pilots in many groups made multiple
passes at great hazard in an attempt
to put their troops on target. Some of
them paid with their lives and the
lives of their crews. 1st Lt. Arthur
Douglass of the 96th Troop Carrier
Squadron had given his green light
in the cabin, the signal to the troop­ers
to jump, but the unit malfunc­tioned.
Douglass turned his plane
around and took a second pass into
the hell of DZ D. Coming under fire
on the run in, eleven troopers exited
quicldy only for the twelfth to be hit
setting off a grenade he was carry­ing.
The blast lmocked the remaining
rnen to the floor of the plane. The
pilot remained undaunted, as the DZ
slipped away a· second time, again
Douglass turned the C-4 7 around for
a third pass into the now withering
ground fire. On the third pass the
troopers were still in no position to
jump. His instrument panel wrecked,
the fuselage riddled with damage and
his hydraulic systems gone, Arthur
----- See page 23
11
Douglass turned his war weary C-4 7
toward England and a hazardous
journey home. 1st Lt. Douglass
would earn the Distinguished Flying
Cross for his daring.
The "bloodyDZ"' claimed the
lives of Wolverton and the bullc of
the ill-fated battalion. Lt. Col. Robert
L. Wolverton would be killed, as
many of his men were on the para­chute
descent or while struggling to
free themselves of their chutes.
Another serious hindrance to sur­vival
their weapons were broken
down and encased for the jump.
Some of his men landed in the
bivouac of Russian mercenaries who
quickly gunned them down with
machine pistols or hacked them to
death with knives.
Back at Exeter the ground crews and
support personnel sweated out the
return of their comrades. As the
planes returned the men and medical
personnel on the ground looked for
the red flares that would signal
wounded aboard. They were among
the first casualties of the invasion
though the 440th would suffer many
more in the hazardous D-plus
resupply missions.
As pilots and crews were
debriefed and given a stiff jolt of
alcohol to calm the nerves the
damaged planes were given over to
the waiting ground crews to prepare
them for the next missions that
would surely come with the daylight.
Later the group would learn of
another of their pilots, who, :(lying
on temporary assignment with the
439th TCG for Normandy, earned
the DFC for his actions at DZ C. The
plane was badly crippled and flying
on one engine. Pilot Russell
Hennicke negotiated the trip home
sometimes just a few feet above the
Channel waters as he struggled to
keep his ship in the air. Without
hydraulics and brakes Hennicke
Unprepared from page 22 Bando, Mark A., The lOlst Airborne
landed the C-4 7 at another field on at Normandy and 101 st Airborne:
an emergency landing. Unable to The Screaming Eagles at Normandy
stop he crashed through a bomb
dump before finally coming to rest.
He and his men counted themselves
among the lucky that day.
The 440th Troop Carrier Group
would earn the Distinguished
(Presidential) Unit Citation for the
Brown, Bill, Fighting Fox Company
of the 506th Parachute ,Infantry
Regiment
Koskimaki, George A., D-Day With
the Screaming Eagles
Normandy missions. The elation of a Krebs, Fank x., DZ Europe: The
job well done turned bitter sweet Story of the 440th Troop Carrier
though, when the news of the fate of Group
the men of the 3rd Battalion, 506th
Parachute Infantry Regiment was
learned. The greatest testament to
the group would come from the
Commander of the 101 st Airborne
Pathfinders on the ground, Captain
Frank Lillyman, "Credit should be
given to the 440th and 441st Groups
of Troop Carrier Command. Using
radar only, and no lights because of
tenuous position, forty-seven aircraft
delivered their personnel to the
intended DZ. This totaled more than
the other two drop zones combined."
In the months to come the 440th
earned seven battle stars, dropped
critical supplies to the surrounded
defenders of Bastogne, brought
millions of pounds of supplies and
fuel to the front lines, participated in
all the major airborne campaigns and
evacuated thousands of wounded
troops and liberated prisoners of war.
Their success would be gauged, not
by the number of enemy killed,
rather the number of lives they
saved, daring to war, unarmed.
Rightfully the men of the 440th
Troop Carrier group could claim,
that they were, "Never Unprepared."
Bibliography and Sources
Anderson, Christopher J., WWII
Magazine, July, 2001, Screaming
Eagles at Pointe-Du-Hoc.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Young, Charles H., Into the Valley:
The Untold Story of the USAAF
Troop Carrier in WWII
Orcutt, Donald M., Letter to the
author January 2001
Warren, John C., USAF Historical
Studies: NO. 97, Airborne Opera­tions
In WW II, European Theater
Special thanks to the
Board of Conventions and
Tourism in Salt Lake City
and to our Tour Guides,
Tony and Sue Burdett,
who made our 2003
Convention one for the
memory books!
23
who died that night," she added.
Under the direction of the
Belgium American Cemetery
Memorial, the Ensival Village
Historical Museum hosts a memorial
service each year on April 6. The
7 ,500 square feet facility is manned
by volunteers year round, Tillmanns
said.
"We receive no money from
any government source," she said,
"Our only income is through dona­tions."
During the group's opening
lngrisano from page 2
Mike lngrisano
Customs Service, and still writes
book reviews for a Civil War
publication. He is the author of
An Artilleryman Mans War: Gus
Dey and the 2nd United States
Artillery, (published in 1998); Valor
Without Arms: A history of the
316th Troop Carrier Group,
1942-1945 (2001); and And
Nothing Is Said: Wartime Letters,
August 5, 1943-April 21, 1945.(2002).
He continues to publish articles
on WWII for the 9AFAF1yer,
the American Airborne Association
Quarterly, and for BOTNA (Buddies
of the Ninth Association) for whom
he was named an honorary president
for the year 2003-2004. He also
contributed to the 9AFAs upcoming
history.
24
dinner, Tillmanns provided a 15
minute slide show identifying
various aspects of the museum.
Besides artifacts from the crash,
donated uniforms, small and large
arms and other memorabilia are
showcased in the facility.
Tillmanns said the goal of the
museum is to preserve the artifacts in
a professional manner. Pire is a
member of the Association of
Military Excavations in Europe.
Those who died that night and
are memorialized in graves in
"At that time, there were only
nine Americans in Arabia. I was one
of them. My passport stated I was a
sergeant in the U.S. Air Corps
proceeding abroad on official
business for the U.S. Air Corps," he
explained.
Darnell agrees his military career
was colorful, but no one. ever knew
the plights he undertook.
"The military told me that in
1973, a group of anti-abortionists set
fire to the records center in St. Louis.
Millions of records were lost. Since I
was never assigned to any particular
outfit, no one bothered to look for
me. I was lost in the system," he
concluded.
Today, Darnell cherishes his
medal. The accompanying Purple
Heart certificate is located square in
the middle of a wall in his home in
Wadsworth, OH, surrounded by a
host of other miHtary and life
Museum from page 18
N euville en Condray near the city of
Liege include: TSgt George Collier,
2Lt Robert Ferguson, Capt. James
Hicks, Jr., SSgt Xon Connett, Capt
Leonard Ottaway, SS gt Joseph Bobo,
SSgt Wilford L. Snodgrass, 2Lt
Henry Honeysett, 2Lt Charles Frazer
and lLt Augustus King, Jr.
Darnell from page 16
February, 1944-Jack Darnell posed in front of a
newly built weather station in Lingling, Hunan
Province, China. The facility was bombed out
in May of that same year.
accomplishments and memorabilia.
Among them, a certificate of
membership in the 9th Air Force
Association.
-· Start Fllanning Nowv -
The 2004 9th Air Force Association's
Annual Convention will be held next
Spring in Tucson, AZ. Further
information will appear in the
Winter edition of The Ninth Flyer.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Address Service Requested
NON-PROFIT
ORGANIZATION
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID.
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I f you look
closely,
you'll be
able to see the
egg continuing
to drip off my
face. Even to
this day,
everyone is
looking for the phantom pages 17
through 20 which mysteriously never
made it into the final production of
the summer edition of The Ninth
Flyer. Well, I'm working to correct
the problem but I want to assure you
first and foremost that the buck stops
here! I take full responsibility simply
because the responsibility is mine to
accept. The error occurred on the
printer's side of this production and
while the proofs I approved were
absolutely beautiful and perfect, the
final production fell short. Seems I
called it right last quarter; errors will
occur. I just hate that such a glaring
error occurred in my first publication!
The response from the
membership of this wonderful
organization has been simply
phenomenal. Thank you so very
much for your kind words regarding
the Flyer's new look and format. I've
heard from folks around the world
offering kudos and best wishes,
many of which you'll find on page 4
in our 'Letters to the Editor'
department. I know you're reading
the Flyer-cover to cover-which is
going to keep me on my toes. And
I'm sincerely grateful to all of you
for welcoming me with open arms
and warm hearts.
So here's how this issue will
differ than the last. This quarter will
feature 24 pages to make up for the
summer edition's missing four pages.
Basically, only the jump from the
Typhoon Disaster story was lost.
Most of the rest of the work was
filler-short quips, calendar events,
etc. I'm reprinting this harrowing
story in its entirety this issue because
it merits it. It's an exciting, knuckle­gripping
tale that needs to be told
and so you won't have to remember
what you read three months ago, the
remembrances of Del Sahlberg and
Don Summers are here again in total.
Apologies to the authors are in order.
I hope with this issue, all is forgiven.
Also, apologies to the
Humphries family are being sent. In
our 'Folded Wings' department, the
typo came to me reading Humphires.
I looked at it carefully and thought
twice about it. When I found in my
local phone directory there are in
fact a few folks with the last name
Humphire, I figured it was the
correct spelling.
Another couple of typos slipped
past spell check but I guess that's
something we'll work more
diligently on in the future.
Hope you enjoy the roundups
from the various reunions and SLC
convention stories since our last
issue. Keep those letters coming!
I GOALS OF THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION I
• To preserve and publicize the history of Ninth Air Force from its
inception in WWII to present time.
• To honor and memorialize the sacrifices of our comrades and their
families.
• To promote fellowship among survivors, families and descendents
of those assigned to the Ninth Air Force at any time.
• To foster the continuing quest for individual liberty and love of our
country.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE AssocrATION, FALL 2003
THE INTH FLYER
Fall,2003
Volume XIII, Number 3
Published quarterly by the
Ninth Air Force Association, Inc.
A Tennessee non-profit veterans
corporation. Chartered as a not for profit
veterans corporation in Tennessee and
registered with the IRS as a 501-c-19
organization,
Headquarters of the Ninth Air Force
Association located at:
Published by Suncoast Graphics
301 Bayshore Drive • Niceville, FL 32578
Visit us online at:
www.ninthairforceassoc.org
Editorial Policy
The Ninth Flyer is published each
January, April, July and October. We
solicit submitted material from any
interested party who shares the goals of
the Association and wishes to share
information with our readers. Materials
must reach the editor at least 30 days
prior to publication, but no guarantees
are made that those materials will be
published in the next issue. Submissions
should be sent via email to the editor's
address below. When possible, photos
should be sent electronically as JPEGs
or through U.S. Postal Service. Photos
cannot be returned without SASE. All
entries will be published on a space
available basis and will be edited for
length, clarity, and good taste. Complete
identification of persons, equipment or
aircraft pictured must accompany
photos. We encourage submissions from
other veterans organizations.
Items appearing in The Flyer do not
necessarily reflect the views of the
Association. Editorial opinions and/or
comments will be clearly identified.
Permission is granted to reproduce
information in The Flyer unless
prohibited by copyright. Please credit
reprints appropriately.
Contributors may send electronic
submissions to:
THE PRESIDENT'S DESK
A~rorn- ised, it is time for
me to let you
know that one of
our members
makes regular
visits of Ameri-can
Cemeteries in Stan Stepnitz
France and
German. No, he does not go back
and forth between the USA and
Europe. He lives in Germany. His
name is Ronald Hirst. He has
recently said he would like to send
material to our new editor explain­ing
where he has visited. He does
have the desire to carry on some of
the purpose of the 9AFA in an area
few of us can visit very often. Thank
you Ronald.
It is too soon for details, but
there are programs in the works to
make available transportation to
Normandy. From information
currently available, getting to
~trip, m um top
slate of 9 AFA objectives
England will be up to the individual.
From there, cruise ships will visit
several European locations with
docking at Cherbourg or Caen. Be
assured there will also be transporta­tion
to the American Cemetery at
Omaha Beach. If you think you
would like to go, let me know and I
will see that you get details as soon
as they are available. This is not for
a convention.
Would you like to see a Ninth
Air Force museum? Your Board of
Directors has given that a lot of
thought. What hasn't really been
done to date is to ask the member­ship
to get involved. How? Do like
the Eighth Air Force people did.
They found people with money and
got them to finance their excellent
museum in Georgia. If you know
someone with money and an interest
in the Air Force, get involved and
get them to initiate financial backing.
Incidently, we are investigating the
availability of space in some current
museum for display of our materi­als.
One more thing each and every
member can do. If you know mem­bers
of associations that are inter­ested
in the Ninth Air Force, talk
them into contacting our association
if they wish to join in with us. We do
have some that are showing an
interest in doing so. Let us pursue
our intention for having an 'um­brella'
organization.
--Stan
Mike Ingrisano named 9 AFA director
Mike N. Ingrisano, Jr., enlisted on
September 3, 1942 in New York City.
After being assigned to the US Army
Air Corps, he was sent to Miami
for basic training. Then on to
Chicago, Illinois, for training as a
radio operator/mechanic. His first
assignment was with the 72nd Troop
Carrier Squadron based in Alliance,
Nebraska. In July 1943, he
volunteered for overseas duty as a
member of a replacement crew.
On August 17, he joined the
37th Troop Carrier Squadron, 316th
Troop Carrier Group in El Kabrit,
Egypt. After flying supply missions
in support of the British Army and
2
RAF, the squadron joined the rest of
the 316th in Sicily.
In February 1944, the Group
was sent to England, and continued
training for the invasion of France.
He participated in the Normandy
invasion, four missions in the
invasion of Holland, and his final
combat mission was the paradrop of
the British airborne into Wesel,
Germany (Operation Varsity).
During his 21 months overseas,
he flew 1500 hours, was awarded
three Air medals, the Distinguished
Unit Citation with two oak leaf
clusters, and nine battle stars.
He was honorably discharged on
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
September 3, 1945.
After WWII, he attended
Rockhurst University in Kansas City,
Missouri where he received a B.S.
in Literature in 1948, and by 1949
received a M.A. in literature from the
State University of Iowa. From
1949 to 1952, while serving as an
instructor in the English Department
he also concentrated on his literature
and history studies.
· He then worked in public
affairs in the electronics industry, and
with the US Customs Service until
he retired in 1988. He.wrote
numerous historic articles for the
--See lngrisano on page 24
THE S CRETARY'S PEN
9th AFA Directors set
Convention in Tucson
g
Meeting called to order at 4: 00
p.m. by Chairman Ray Lowman.
• Opening Prayer
• Pledge of Allegiance
• Roll call of Directors and Officers
Present: Stanley Davis, Michael
Horgan, Michael Ingrisano,
Orville Iverson, Lloyd Johnson,
Raymond Lowman, Vito Pedone,
Marvin Rosvold, Fern Mann.
Absent: Frank Carnaggio, Arnold
Franco, Bert Lok, Stanley Stepnitz,
Larry Gaughran, Treasurer.
Introduction of new Director,
Mike Ingrisano.
Fern Mann reported on SLC
convention plans.
Marvin Rosvold reported on Larry
Gaughran's health.
Minutes of April, 2003 meeting
at Shaw read. One correction,
Ingrisano was in Troop Carrier
Command, not "Commander."
Minutes approved.
Chairman's Report. Next 9th
AFA Convention will be in Tucson.
Hotel is selected. Details will be
announced.
President Stanley Stepnitz was
absent because of problems at his
home from Hurricane Isabel, so
he made a conference call to the
Board, with items as follows:
• Stan read letters from other groups
recommending two years notice of
Convention dates so they could
discuss possibility of having joint
gatherings.
• Discussed June
6,2004
ceremony to be
held at
Normandy
Cemetery. We
will ask for
Fern Mann
seating at ceremony. Letter sent to
Pres. Bush inviting him to ceremony.
• WWII Memorial in Washington
D.C. officially will open in May, '04.
• Future Conventions-Should we
use professional Reunion Planners?
• Museums-We can't afford our
own, so we must find space in
others, such as Dover AFB.
• Holland/ America Cruise lines will
announce trip to Europe in June,
2004.
Meeting opened to discussion
about changing 9th AFA Convention
dates to Spring. Lloyd Johnson made
Motion that 9th AFA Convention
dates be changed from FALL to
Spring. Motion approved.
Lloyd Johnson made Motion that
9th AFA, 2005 Convention be held
in May in Seattle, WA, immediately
before or after P-47 Pilots Assoc.
Convention. Second by Iverson,
Motion approved. Six for, one
opposed.
Treasurers Report was read.
Motion to accept report made and
approved. Larry Gaughran has
asked to be relieved of Treasurer's
See Secretary on page 17
. Tne DUI AfA Wants You
Our Asso6iation's Board Is in dire need of a Treasurer.
Volunt~ers should contact Ray Eowman at-
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Convention memorial
seivice at Hill honors
passing of 9th memrers
Col Charles Lyons, Commander of the
388th Fighter Wing at Hill AFB, was
guest speaker during the 2003 9AFA
Convention memorial service held at
the base chapel on Sept. 22.
Roughly 50 9AFA members
interrupted the scheduled tour of
Salt Lake City and surrounding
area to attend a memorial service at
Hill AFB honoring those who have
passed away since the last annual
convention. Chaplain Robin
Stephenson (Capt, USAF) led the
ceremony with formal greetings,
opening prayer and a tribute to all
members who served valiantly in
the 9th Air Force.
Col. Charles Lyons, Com­mander
of the 388th Fighter Wing
at Hill, was guest speaker who said
the memorial is a time "to renew
memories of those who had fallen.
"We are here today to remem­ber
all who climbed into fighters
with resolve and those who sup­ported
the missions in damp, dark,
cold and uncertain conditions," he
- See Memorial on page 17
3
to t h e
Editor's Note: In addition to the kind words expressed by these writers, each and every one of them wanted reprints
of the last issue which omitted pages 17-20. Due to space limitations, we are lifting quotes, both good and not-so-good,
from each letter in hopes this issue answers that most-oft asked question... "where are the last four pages?"
Kudos on the new look
Congratulations on your first
issue. I would like to suggest that
you consider submitting the article
from Summer 2002 edition on
"Good Humor Men of the 9th AF" to
the READERS DIGEST. Item should
interest many and give the 9th a
good plug.
Keep up the good work.
Don Canto #2265
Add my name to the lost pages
- a good publication Karen - read it
from cover to cover. Your doing a
great job.
Don Champlain, Life Member
Melbourne, FL
Congratulations. I received my
copy of the Flyer yesterday. It is
certainly a quality newsletter, well­balanced
and a great step ahead of
the past.
John Moench
Longwood, FL
I received the FLYER and I am
impressed with it. I think it
is a· tremendous start. I have heard
from MSgt Sarah Cochran and she
also mentioned how much she
enjoyed it. Perhaps we are on ~he
right road to reach the younger
generation. Hope it keeps up.
Lloyd Johnson
Lincoln, NE
4
I received my Summer 2003
issue of the 9th A/F Flyer and was
thrilled at the Hq 50th Troop Carrier
Wing/441st TC Group ad. I had no
idea when I sent the information to
you that the 9th Flyer was changing
that much and we would receive
such good coverage.
Thank you so much for the
changes in the new issue giving us a
sample of what we can expect in the
future.
Frank Ehrman
What a surprise when I received
the Summer Flyer today, Saturday,
Aug 9th! Having been a teacher, I
wouldgive it my best rating, A+, and
two thumbs up, and more thumbs if I
had more!
Also, the idea of incorporating
ads, in my opinion is a good idea.
There may be some 9th AF comrades
who would be interested in subscrib­ing
to an ad for their businesses.
I haven't read all of the stories yet,
but they seem like the stories that
would appeal to the readers of the
Flyer.
Karen has gotten off to a mag­nificent
start, and hopefully we
get some good stories coming in
from members. -The airmen
should have some good stories, and
photos to share.Congratulations
Karen, you got my vote!
Orv Iverson,
Woodside, CA
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
Although I have no experience
in the printing business (what I know
wouldn't cover a microdot), I would
like to echo the sentiments of my pal
Sahlberg.
In my line of work we say 'The
guy who never made a mistake never
made anything.'
The only negative aspect of the
matter as far as I'm concerned is the
remarks I've received from my co­author
regarding the relative quality
of the part that appeared vis a vis the
part that didn't. Rest assured how­ever,
that he won't be allowd to crow
too loudly for too long.
Don Summers
Hi Karen: Been there, done that as
the saying goes. I have a feeling
THE NINTH FLYER now has a
'new' Editor that has two sets of
eyes, two sets of ears and two noses
that sniff out and look for Production
errors. Let those that have not sinned
cast the first stone.
I did forget to mention one other
thing. In the title of the article we are
all interested in it should read:
HISTORIANS LINK TO RECALL
1944 TYPHOON DISASTER.
I went to England in 1943 but
the Typhoon's crash took place in the
summer of 1944. Again, best wishes,
Del Sahlberg
See Letters on page 1 o
s
We regret to inform you of the
following passings since our last
publication.
May they rest in peace ...
Lewis Walker 441 TCG 301 TCS
passed away February 9th, 2003
John Nabozny, Sr 61 TCGP 78 SVSQ
passed away December 25, 2002
Charles Standing 1st Tran GP 316 Sq
(no date given)
John Ferguson 354th FG 356 FS
passed away June 7, 2003
Frank H. Mears VHL2628; 57FG
passed away August 4, 2003
William Pataki 79 SV Sta. Comp
passed away January 13, 2003
Robert J. Racine 362/377
Warren W. Sorensen 48/ 493
George T. Johnson 50/1 O
Robert D. McKee 36 2nd FG 379 FS
Robert F. Sladek, Sr. 9ADJQ
Fenmore R. Seton 507 TCG/327 CSQ
Charles Stallings 322 BG/451 BS
Francis MacDonald
Emmett Reyman 36 FG
Earl C. Hedlund 47 4 FG/669 BS
Heavenly Thoughts
God brings men into deep waters
not to drown them, but to
cleanse them.
-Aughey
TAP
mman
___ ..&JllL_Mears
pilot
at92
From the mo­ment
he entered
the Army Air
Corps, all Frank
H. Mears wanted
to do was fly.
Beginning
Col. Frank Mears
with biplanes and
finishing two
decades later in F-104s which
exceeded the speed of sound, Col.
Mears got his wish.
A decorated, WWII fighter pilot
whose military career spanned nearly
30 years, Mears died Aug. 4, at
home of natural causes, according to
his daughter, Gina Mears.
In August, 1942, on the aircraft
carrier Ranger, Mears commanded
72 aircraft in the 57th Fighter Group.
His efforts resulted in a Distin­guished
Flying Cross and a Legion
of Merit.
Fifty years later, he was awarded
a plaque from alumni of the 57th
Fighter Group and the 9th Air Force
honoring him for being the first
member of the group to "take off
planes from a carrier without an
accident or fatality."
Born and raised in the Los
Angeles area, Mears grew up in a
Latino family and spoke both
English and Spanish. He attended
college before joining the military in
1932.
Mears learned to fly biplanes in
flight training. Later, stationed
aboard the Ranger - the lone large
carrier in the Atlantic Fleet at the
time - he flew P-40 pursuit aircraft.
In the early 1950s, Mears served
as a NATO commander at the
organization's Fontainebleau,
France, headquarters. Subsequent
assignments took him to Tripoli,
Libya and Eglin AFB in Florida.
Before retirement in 1960,
Mears served as commander of
Edwards Air Force Base where he
flew the F-104 Starfighter, the first
aircraft to fly at twice the speed of
sound and holding numerous air­speed
and altitude records.
As a civilian in San Diego,
Mears played golf regularly and took
pride in a vast record collection, rich
in Mexican ranchero and big-band­era
tunes. He also enjoyed ballroom
dancing and loved maintaining his
two 1955 Ford Thunderbirds.
Survivors include his wife of 63
years, Regina; daughters Gina Mears
of Hawaii; Katherine Dice of Horse
Creek, California, and son Paul
Mears of San Diego; 12 grandchil­dren
and six great grandchildren.
Services were held Aug. 13.
Please send obituary notices to:
Editor, The Ninth Flyer, c/o Suncoast Graphics,
301 Bayshore Drive, Niceville, Florida 32578.
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003 5
W TNESS
Historians link to recall I-~ Typhoon di&Ner
Editor's note: This story is being reprinted in its entirety as the
second half was lost in the summer edition of The Flyer. Heartfelt
apologies to Messrs. Sahlberg and Summers for the omission.
The first year of my time in the
ETO was spent based at
USAAF Station #519, Grove,
England where my Squadron, the
43rd ADG, was located prior to
moving to France. We arrived there
the night of 1 October, 1943, and
were assigned to the 8th Air Force.
On 16 October, 1943, we were
officially transferred to the 9th Air
Force in preparation for the upcom­ing
Invasion of France. I was as­signed
to the Repair Squadron whose
job it was to do major repairs of
aircraft of the 9th and return them to
combat. My responsibilities were in
the area of aircraft retrieval and
transportation.
On 25 October, I was placed on
Detached Service to the 26th M R &
R Squadron located near Thatcham
(Greenham Common) to assist in
assembly of the thousands of assault
gliders (CG-4A's) arriving in crates
from ports around the UK.
On 11 December, I was trans­ferred
back to Grove to recover from
injuries received two days earlier in
London. With a few exceptions my
operations thereafter were conducted
from my home base of Grove.
24 July, 1944-Notes from my
diary-Around noon returned to
base (Station 519 Grove) in time for
chow. Later we were sitting around
in the warm summer sunshine when
the sound of low flying aircraft
caused us to look up. Suddenly an
American P-51 and a British Ty­phoon
came roaring across the field
and a mock dogfight ensued. After a
6
minute the P-51 pulled straight up
from a position nearly 'on the deck'
and the Typhoon followed in close
pursuit. The Typhoon climbed
straight up as it endeavoured to catch
the American plane. Suddenly it
began to falter, falling off on one
wing and diving straight towards the
ground. From all around came shouts
of "PULL UP, PULL UP." It was
only afterwards I realized that I had
been shouting as well.
The 'power on' death dive went
straight in, ending in a muted 'bang'
and a column of black smoke. For
several minutes, nobody moved, then
we began to disperse quietly without
another word. The crash was but a
few miles north of the airfield on
which we stood.
-Fast forward to December, 1996
In response to a letter I had
written to "The Ninth Flyer" ex­pressing
my interest in WWII and
Grove Airfield in particular, I
received a letter from Grove, written
by an Englishman by the name of
Donald Summers. I quicldy learned
he was seriously interested in finding
all he could about the U.S. presence
in England and in the history of the
Americans at Grove, Station 519 in
particular. His home is located in
what was area five of my old air­field.
A warm ongoing friendship
developed, with endless information
exchanged.
During the ensuing months,
along with other matters, Don kept
me informed of the progress that he
and his colleagues were making as
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
by Del Sahlberg and Don Summers
they tried to discover details of the
crash nearby of a Typhoon during
the summer of 1944. This, of course,
was the event I had witnessed so
many years before. Don and his
organization, the Ridgeway Military
and Aviation Research Group, keen
to record the WWII history of the
area, were interested in discovering
all about the circumstances of that
crash.
--Don Summers' account
It was while interviewing a lady
from a nearby village about an
unrelated matter, that I learned of the
crash of a Typhoon aircraft during
WWII. Mrs. Vickers had been
washing her baby prior to starting
her 2 p.m. shift at the local aircraft
component factory. She recalled
hearing the plane crash and watching
horrified as it burned in the field
behind her house. It was summertime
she said, and she remembered the
fire truck driving across the com
stubble to the wreck, the noise of the
plane's ammunition burning off
causing her to worry for her father's
safety, for he had just wallced off to
work along the lane close to that
field.
Later, at the factory, someone
told her that the plane was a Ty­phoon
and confirmed that there had
been no hope for the pilot. She had
always wondered why it was that the
two Americans in the brick hut a
hundred yards from the crash had not
heard a thing.
I consulted Mike Berrie, our
archivist, and asked if he could come
up with more information about the
-See Typhoon on page 20
Editor's note: In response to the Typhoon Disaster story beginning
on page 6, Gilbert C. Burns, Jr., a P-47 pilot, provided this pas­sage
of his account of a similar (or perhaps the same) accident
witnessed by Sahlberg and Summers. It's an excerpt from a story
by Jeff Ethell appearing in a recent edition of "Fighter Command."
On July 16, 1944, I took off from
the OTU at Atcham, England, with
no particular objective in mind. The
razorback P-4 7 was 41- 6237, an old
one, one of the first few hundred
made at Farmingdale, NY. Its cost
then was about $85,000. When a
fighter pilot flies, he is supposed to
keep his head turning, constantly
watching in all directions. The
reason, of course, being that no
enemy aircraft could approach and
catch you by surprise.
I was flying in the vicinity of
Shrewsbury
and my mind
was not on
flying, but on
other things. I
few hundred feet up and inverted.
So this blonde ATA pilot must
have felt pretty proud after catching
me asleep at the wheel, and she dove
off down to the left. Being more than
annoyed with myself, I jumped on
her tail and followed her down. She
led a merry chase on the deck, but I
clung to her. We were circling a huge
tree in a vertical bank when sud­denly,
my engine stopped. I glanced
at the fuel gauges; they checked out
OK, so with what power I had left, I
pulled up a few hundred feet to look
was not
looking around,
but staring
straight ahead.
I had "my head
up my ass." I
happened to
turn my head to
the left and lo
This is a photo of my crash, exact location not known.
My name and unfortunately the day date are removed.
I stole this photo from the CO's bulletin board and I
scratched off my name before sending it home so when
they censored the letter, they wouldn't connect me with
the photo! The truth is out.
for a crash
landing site. God
was with me
because there
was a field off to
the left and in I
went. I turned off
the ignition, shut
the gas line off,
put the flaps
down, wheels up,
trying to come in
a slowly as
possible.
and behold, what was sitting close to
my left wing but a Spitfire. It had
come up and caught me unwawares.
I was quite embarrassed and I .am
sure the Spitfire pilot was quite
pleased about it. I took a close look
at the pilot and there was blonde hair
coming down from beneath a white
flying helmet. A girl! One of the
English ATA ferry pilots. I knew that
those girls were great pilots. I had
seen them slow roll on takeoff from
our airfield. I had seen them in
Hurricanes fly across our field only a
I hit the ground tail first and
crash-slid to a stop. Releasing my
oxygen connection, radio cable and
safety belt, I jumped out and started
running in case the plane decided to
blow. I looked back over my shoul­der
at the plane while I was running
and what was chasing me but a bull!
I kept running and came to a barbed
wire fence that surrounded the field.
With the bull coming up fast, I
jumped over the fence. Going over
-See Blonde on page 17
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
- by Ray Lowman
Memo
from the
Chairman
I just wanted to send a big
'thanks' to the many members who
sent their voting ballots regarding
the proposed changes to our Bylaws.
The result was an overwhelming
approval of the changes.
Your interest and participation in
your Association's business is deeply
appreciated.
--Ray
9th Air Force
Commemorative
History Book
is now in production!
We are pleased to announce
that the book is slated for release
during the first quarter of 2004.
Hundreds of you already have
participated by including your
biographies, stories and photos.
If you haven't, it's not too late.
But you must act by Oct. 30, 2003.
Send materials to:
9th AF History Book
Turner Publishing Co.
P.O. Box 3101
Paducah, KY 42002-3101
To Order the book, call M-F
1-800-788-3350
Hard bound copy is $54 each
Leather bound copy is $94 each
Visa and MasterCard accepted.
www.turnerpublishing.com
7
WWII mag recounts
Bastogne adventures
Orv Iverson asked me to send
out a BOLO (cop term for Be On
The Lookout) for an article in the
September, 2003, issue of WWII
Magazine where a feature entitled A
Christmas Present for Bastogne is
written by Richard E. Killblane.
The piece recounts harrowing
parachute drops by 20 pathfinders
which were critical to the little town
and the U.S. troops defending it
against the Germans. Written plainly,
a scrappy group of soldiers of the
506th Parachute Infantry created a
makeshift outfit known as the "Filthy
13," who by all accounts should
never have succeeded in the missions
with which they were tasked. As it
was, combat during the lOlst
Airborne Division's grueling 72 days
on the line in Holland had reduced
the band from 13 to three.
Finally succeeding in their
mission, aerial resupply missions
resumed, but not before the Filthy 13
had performed some of the finest
work of their lives. In all, Jake
McNiece, Schrable Williams,
George Blain and Locldand Dillon,
all of the 506th, finished the war
with four combat jumps each. No
one unit had made more than three
jumps and most only made two.
These American paratroopers hold
the unique honor of being the only
group to survive four combat jumps
during the war.
For more reading on the epic
defense of Bastogne, find it on the
net at www.thehistorynet.com. See
4th Annored Division Spearhead at
Bastogne, by Alvin F. Irzyk.
A great, short read which
identifies Troop Carrier members
you may know. Some may still be
with us today. Check it out!
8
DESKTOP
Perspective
by Frank Ehrman
I sat in my seat of the Boeing
767 waiting for everyone to hurry
and stow their carry-ons and grab a
seat so we could start what I was
sure to be a long, uneventful flight
home. With the huge capacity and
slow moving people talcing their time
to stuff luggage far too big for the
overhead and never paying much
attention to holding up the growing
line behind them, I simply shook my
head knowing that this flight was not
starting out very well.
I was anxious to get home to see
my loved ones so I was focused on
"my" issues and just felt like stand-.
ing up and yelling for some of these
clowns to get their act together. I
knew I couldn't say a word so I just
thumbed through the "Sky Mall"
magazine from the seat pocket in
front of me. You know it's really
getting rough when you resort to the
over priced, useless sky mall crap to
brealc the monotony.
With everyone
finally seated, we just sat there with
the cabin door open and no one in
any hurry to get us going, although
we were well past the scheduled take
off time. No wonder the airline
industry is in trouble I told myself.
Just then,
the attendant came on the intercom
to inform us all that we were being
delayed. The entire plane let out a
collective groan. She resumed
speaking to say "We are holding the
aircraft for some very special people
who are on their way to the plane
and the delay shouldn't be more than
five minutes. The word came after
waiting six times as long as we were
promised that "I" was finally going
to be on my way home.
Why the hoopla over "these" folks? I
THE NINTH AIR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
was expecting some celebrity or
sport figure to be the reason for the
hold up ......... Just get their butts in a
seat and let's hit the gas I thought.
The attendant came back on the
speaker to announce in a loud and
excited voice that we were being
joined by several U. S. Marines
returning home from Iraq! ! !
Just as they walked on board, the
entire plane erupted into applause.
The men were a bit taken by surprise
by the 340 people cheering for them
as they searched for their seats. They
were having their hands shook and
touched by almost everyone who
was within an arm's distance of them
as they passed down the aisle. One
elderly woman kissed the hand of
one of the Marines as he passed by
her. The applause, whistles and
cheering didn't stop for a long time.
When we were finally airborne,
"I" was not the only civilian check­ing
his conscience as to the delays in
"me" getting home, finding my easy
chair, a cold beverage and the remote
in my hand. These men had done for
all of us and I had been complaining
silently about "me" and "my" issues.
I took for granted the everyday
freedoms I enjoy and the conve­niences
of the American way of life
when others paid the price for my
ability to moan and complain about a
few minutes delay. Those heroes
were going home to their loved ones.
I attempted to get my selfish
outlook back in order and minutes
before we landed I suggested to the
attendant that she announce over the
speaker a request for everyone to
remain in their seats until our heroes
were allowed to gather their things
and be first off the plane.
The cheers and applause contin­ued
until the last Marine stepped off
See Perspective on page 17
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Great Warrior, Croix de Valeur Awards presented at convention
Nearly 50 members and their
wives attended the 9th AFA banquet
on 23 Sept. to wrap up four days of
feasting, touring and fellowship.
During closing ceremonies, the
Association's Croix de Valeur and
Great Warrior Awards were pre­sented.
The recipient of the Great
Warrior Award, Captain Marty
Golden was in attendance with his
wife and 7 month old daughter. Also
in attendance were his proud parents,
Martin Sr. and Judy Golden.
"We went to Headquarters as
our only source of award candi­dates,"
said Lloyd Johnson, 9AFA
Director. "While the press really
builds up some, it's the guys who
really know what's what at Head­quarters.
We wanted to recognize the
active establishment. That where our
future is."
The two awards represent the
best of the best in flying and non­flying
careers within the 9th Air
Force. The following are the cita­tions
which were presented at the
banquet.
Great Warrior-Captain
Martin J. Golden was on 'alert
status' as the HC-130 Aircraft
Commander, 71 st Expeditionary
Rescue Squadron on 13 June, 2002,
in support of operation Enduring
Freedom. While on alert, Golden
was notified that an MC-130-H had
crashed while resupplying Special
Forces troops searching for Taliban
Al-Qaeda fighters in eastern Af­ghanistan,
southwest of Gardez.
Golden and his crew were airborne
within 24 minutes of notification.
Immediately, they acquired coordi­nates
and assisted the Joint Search
and Rescue Center in traffic
deconfliction while preparing to
support the rescue helicopters tasked
to pick up the seven survivors.
Golden and crew realized the
rescue helicopters would need in­flight
refueling and coordinated the
operation to occur in the best pos­sible
location to facilitate the quick
delivery of survivors to the nearest
medical facility. Overcoming an
almost complete lack of illumination,
Golden used night vision goggle­modified
contour procedures to
navigate treacherous mountains
while refueling as low as 300 feet
above ground level in terrain as high
as 8,000 feet above sea level. The
helicopters were heavily laden,
critically low on fuel, and power
limited by the extreme altitude and
temperature. The combination of
these factors forced Golden to fly at
five knots above his HC-130's
minimum operating speed.
Overcoming all, Golden and
crew off-loaded 4,000 pounds of fuel
and enabled the helicopters to
deliver all seven crash survivors to
safety. The professional skill and
airmanship displayed by captain
Golden reflect highly on himself and
the United States Air Force.
Captain Martin J.
Golden and his w~e
April are shown
receiving the 9th AFA
Great Warrior
Award from Director
Lloyd Johnson during
the 2003 9th Air
Force Convention
in Salt Lake City.
THE NINTH ArR FORCE ASSOCIATION, FALL 2003
He has distinguis]J_ed himself as
a war fighting leader and a worthy
recipient from our Association for
this Award as being a Great Warrior.
Although not in attendance, the
recipient for the Croix de Valeur
Award was TSgt William Barnwell
IV, who was responsible for super­vising
a team of 11 weather techni­cians
providing direct weather
support to Bagram Air Base, Af­ghanistan
and assisting the Joint
METOC officer with coordinating
weather support for the entire
Afghanistan Joint Operations Area
during Operation Enduring Freedom.
He helped sustain weather operations
to support 7 ,000 personnel and 2,000
transient U.S. and coalition aircraft
during these operations. He single
handedly established the first ever,
fully operational pilot to metro radio
service for Bagram Air Base.
Sgt. Barnwell was a hand
picked member of a Special Opera­tions
Weather team that went into
harm's way to emplace two remote
miniature weather stations at classi­fied
locations within Afghanistan.
See Award on page 18
9
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